


Exposed

by WhoInWhoville



Series: ClosedVerse [2]
Category: Broadchurch, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alec Hardy trying to persuade Rose to have sex, Broadchurch/Doctor Who crossover, Dating, Deaths of other Pete's World Torchwood employees though not graphic, Dimension Cannon, F/M, He'd never force her, Mental Health Issues, Mickey Smith death though not graphic, Not non-con, Rose Tyler coma, Rose Tyler injuries, She wants to take it slow this time, Slow Build, Slow Burn, UST, Wooing, broadwho, dimension cannon failure, eventual intimacy, just trying to convince her, no chance of Rose reuniting with Tenth Doctor, not dub-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-27 12:19:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6284296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoInWhoville/pseuds/WhoInWhoville
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an alien threat surfaces in Broadchurch, Torchwood comes to town and Rose Tyler and DI Alec Hardy's new relationship is tested. Sequel to Closed, crossover with Broadchurch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted beginning in February of 2014.
> 
> Rated Mature for eventual intimacy, subject matter, and a bit of course language.
> 
> I have made a few plot changes. Some of you may be disappointed, but I think the changes are good for the narrative. Rose and Alec's relationship is now slow build. Rose isn't ready to jump back into a physical relationship. She is feeling hesitant and cautious. 
> 
> Additionally, I have not used beta readers this time around. It was originally beta-read by [bittie752](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittie752), [ kelkat9](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelkat9), and [kilodalton/strangecharmed](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kilodalton). I am, however, forever grateful to these ladies for their help with plotting, grammar, and well, everything!
> 
> All mistakes are mine. 
> 
> I own neither Broadchurch nor Doctor Who. I do not own these characters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prologue: the drive home from London -- the final scene from Exposed -- expanded a bit...

Originally beta-read by bittie752, kelkat9, and kilodalton. Many changes have been made since I originally posted. I am, however, forever grateful to these ladies for their help with plotting, grammar, and well, everything!

##  _Prologue_

The winding ribbon of black road had captured Alec's attention. But when Rose rested her hand on top of his and gave a single squeeze, his death grip on the gear shift knob relaxed. He turned his hand over, tangling their fingers. She rested her head against her headrest and closed her eyes. 

Alec briefly looked at her -- just a moment -- and then he returned his eyes to the road. He wondered how he could have wasted two precious weeks away from her. They could have been working through their pain and disappointment. Together.

In the few hours he had spent within the Tyler household, he had learned quite a bit about the family that occupied the mansion. The members of this family loved each other; they cared, were protective, and generous. 

Jackie, for her humble roots, had not let wealth ruin her. She may now wear expensive clothing and a diamond the size of Gibraltar on her ring finger, but there was something grounded about her. 

She was loud, earthy, and authentic — well, except for her bottle blonde hair that she probably bleached herself. 

Alec cracked a brief smile, still reeling from the fact that the woman had slapped him. Without a doubt, Jackie Tyler was completely devoted to her husband, small son, and to her grown daughter. 

Pete had told Alec that every morning, Jackie got up when he did — no matter how early — to make him his favorite tea. (Jackie made complicated tea, too.) And then she would made a second pot to fill his favorite battered old thermos. 

Pete Tyler had once been a man of power and influence. But he'd invested the bulk of his fortune -- not to gain wealth -- but to keep people safe. 

He was kind and playful with his son, generous to his stepdaughter, loving and affectionate, and he respected his wife. Clearly, he was still well-off. But while money did buy his family an extremely pleasant lifestyle, Alec knew that money could never buy the true affection that his family had for him. 

And Rose. She had been so easy and natural with her little brother. And that story about the bird people. He lowered his eyebrows slightly. Did she just come up with that tale on her own? There was nothing even vaguely familiar about it. She must have a brilliant, creative mind. His thoughts skipped ahead, and he wondered what sort of a mother she would be. Gentle, kind, devoted? Of course. 

Alec shook himself mentally. They were still fixing this _thing_ that was happening between them! But even still, he couldn’t help but think what would it would be like to see her waistline swelling, to hear the wailing cries of an infant, and then a child's laughter within the walls of his stone cottage. He decided to think about renovation plans. And then Alec heard the beep beep beep of Rose dialling her mobile. 

"Ellie. Hi. Um, this is Rose." 

_"Why the hell haven't you called me? I've been worried sick about you!"_

Alec could plainly hear Ellie’s voice through the mobile speaker.

"Well..." Rose began.

_"Never mind why. Are you doing all right?"_

"I'm good actually. Really good. I'm on my way back home. Home to Broadchurch, I mean. I'm really sorry I never rang you up after I left." 

_"Yeah, well, you’re gonna explain that later. And believe me, there will be yelling. Did Alec show up at your place? And he’d better’ve been on his bloody knees.”_

Rose looked over at him. He smirked. 

"Yeah, he did," Rose replied. “No kneeling, though.”

Alec thought he heard a smile brightening her voice, confirmed when he saw the upward curve of her lips. 

"We're driving back together, in fact," she said more quietly. "My dad is gonna ship my car to me tomorrow." 

_”Shipping it? You spoilt little rich girl!" Ellie teased._

“Yeah, s’pose I am.” Rose laughed. “Pete’s sorta generous that way. Said he didn't want me and Alec to have to go home in two cars." 

_”Movers took all your things.”_

Alec saw Rose look down at her lap.

_Stay here if you want. I’ve got a pull-out downstairs.”_

A lump formed in Alec's throat. That was a subject that they had not broached: Rose's sleeping arrangements for the night. 

"I... Uh... My things are still at Alec's place. From, you know, before. 'Cos of Rowe." 

_"Give your mobile to Alec. I wanna talk to him."_

Alec saw Rose pinch her lips as she handed him the mobile. 

_"Now listen to me, Hardy, and listen good. If she stays with you, and I'm positive that's exactly what she's gonna do, do yourselves both a favour, and just sleep. Got it?"_

"I refuse to talk about this with you, Baker." He handed the mobile back to Rose. 

Rose snorted a laugh. "See you tomorrow at Zoka? I'm opening up the shop as soon as I can get milk delivered in from Tesco's." 

_”You’re opening tomorrow? Bit soon, don’t you think?”_ asked Ellie.

“We’ll see. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

_”Yeah. Well whatever you do, swear you’ll never close your shop again, because I think I have the start of an ulcer from that battery acid at the station."_

Rose ended the call after chatting for a few more minutes, and then slid her mobile into her handbag. 

Alec broke the silence after a long pause. “So. Are you staying with me? Until your things come of course.” 

"Yeah" Rose halted. "If that's, you know, all right. Or I could check into the inn," she said, “until my things arrive. Have to order a new mattress. Rowe hacked mine to bits. Sofa and chairs too…” Her voice trailed off.

“That’s a shame. That was a good mattress,” he flirted. 

She smirked, but squeezed his hand anyway, which she had never released, even through the telephone call. 


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose returns to Broadchurch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story now picks up where it left off at the end of Closed. 
> 
>  
> 
> _I do **not** believe that the depiction of Alec trying to persuade Rose to have sex with him is either dub-con or non-con. He is, however, trying his best to persuade her. She is giving mixed signals, but she also owns up to it. Real relationships are complicated, messy, and often confusing. Trying to keep it real, people._

_Rose Tyler_ — not Gwen Lewis — had squeezed Alec Hardy’s hand.

"So what happens now?" asked Alec. He flicked a lever and the windshield wipers swiped once, swishing away the light mist that had coated the window.

"Move back home, reopen Zoka, and well, be with you." She paused. "That's what I'm hoping for at least.” Her words hung in the air.

"So you want to pick up right where we left off?" Alec asked, cautious.

Rose hesitated. "Do you think we  _can_  pick up right where we left off? Can't deny it. Things have changed. A lot. And, well,” Rose said. She chewed on her lip. “Alec, when I say I want to be with you, I don’t mean the sex part. It was too soon before.”

Alec’s head snapped. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Rose squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

He cleared his throat. “Don’t be.” 

“And I know what you said back in London, that you know I’m the same person, but-"

Alec felt it necessary to interrupt. He removed his hand from the steering wheel. "No buts. What I told you back there, that I know you're the same person because you can't fake kindness, I meant it. Don't think I could be much more clear,” he said, dodging his eyes between her and the road. “I _meant_ what I said." Alec kept his eyes drilled to hers for a long moment. “Do yon understand me?“

“Eyes on the road, DI.” She stalled. 

“Do you understand?” he repeated, more firmly this time.

“Yeah. I believe you." Rose's voice quivered. "But Alec, I feel like I need to  _show_  you that Gwen and me, we're the same."

"You sure you aren't trying to prove it to _yourself_?"

She hesitated, but then nodded in agreement. “You can understand, right? I need to prove that I'm the same woman that… that you said you fell in love with." Rose nearly whispered the words.

Alec's single-handed grip tightened around the polished wood steering wheel. "I suppose. Be you. That’ll be enough to anyone who knows you.”

Rose pinched her lips together and looked out the window, successfully tamping down tears, both from nerves and relief.

The couple remained silent for the final fifteen minutes of the drive. Alec pulled his car into the shed behind his house just after eleven pm. 

After quickly prepping for sleep, they both fell into bed. Like magnets, they sought each other in the dark. Alec gathered Rose into his arms, and buried his nose in her neck, placing a single kiss into her hair.

Soon, both were lulled to sleep by the steady sound of rain pattering the slate roof of the cottage.

oOo

Rose woke up slowly. She opened her eyes and rolled onto her back. She was alone. The sheets where Alec had been were cold. The digital alarm clock flashed seven fifty-four. Running her hand through her hair, she ruffled it, scratching her scalp. She turned onto her side, and then saw there was a note on Alec's pillow.

_Call me when you wake up. -Alec_

She held onto the corner of the paper, reading and re-reading Alec's familiar scrawl. She tried to squeeze out more meaning than was in those seven simple words. He'd left without saying goodbye. Was he already having second thoughts about fetching her from London? Bringing her back to Broadchurch? To his home? His bed?

After the kisses they had shared back in London, she was certain that her return to Broadchurch would have at least included a good morning kiss.

With a sigh, Rose reached for the telephone.

Alec answered on the first ring. "Morning, sleepyhead."

Rose's face split into a wide smile. The timbre of his voice was low and rumbling. The worry that had crept into her heart evaporated.

_”I tried to wake you up before I left for work, but you very rudely turned your back to me. I think you may have even grunted."_

Rose laughed. "Wish you'd tried a little harder to wake me up. A kiss is always nice," she flirted.

_”I did, actually. Like I said, you ignored me."_

Rose's toes curled. "So, Detective, what are you detecting today?"

_"Still working on the drug ring investigation."_

She heard him yawn. "You’re tired.”

 _"Aye. Haven't been sleeping well for a while now.”_ Alec cleared his throat.

Rose frowned. "I'm sorry."

 _"For what?"_ he asked.

"Running away. Being impatient. Assuming the worst of you. Lots of things, I suppose."

 _"Now, let's have none of that first thing in the morning,"_ he admonished gently.

"Last night I told Ellie I was gonna open up my shop today but I'm gonna wait until tomorrow. I'm sure the place needs a good clean-up. Also need to update the magazines. Go through the mail and such."

 _"How do you plan on getting there? Run?”_ he laughed.

“Oh. Right. No car.” 

_“Can you be ready in thirty minutes?”_ he asked.

“Twenty.” Rose smiled.

 _"See you then."_ Alec paused. _"How about we have lunch together today as well?”_ he asked eagerly.

"Yeah. That sounds nice." Rose bit her lip. _”Hardy!”_ Rose heard someone call for him in the background.

 _"I need to go,"_ said Alec.

"'Kay. See ya in a bit.”

Rose replaced the handset of the old-style telephone in the cradle, and then curled into herself for just a moment, enjoying the surge of contentment and happiness.

oOo

With Rose back in Broadchurch, the last place Alec wanted to be was at the station. They'd shared a too-brief kiss when he dropped Rose off at her shop. He frowned, watching the second hand on his watch tick-tick, creeping towards lunchtime. Movement through his mini-blinds stole his attention. Ellie walked into his office and seated herself. 

“Where’ve you been?” Ellie complained. “Chief’s breathing down my neck. I need to go over few things with you."

"I went back home and picked up Gwen." 

Ellie's mouth gaped open. 

"I mean Rose." He ran his hand down his face. “Rose. I picked up _Rose_. Drove her to the shop."

She raised an eyebrow and half smiled. " _Home_? So she did stay at your place.”

"Baker,” he warned.

"Well, that was nice of you,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Letting her stay over, and then picking her up. Hey, she was supposed to call me when she got to the shop. She promised me a coffee. I think I'll just pop over in a few and get the _real_ story. I owe her a loud lecture, too.”

Alec looked at her over his glasses.

She smiled and leaned forward. "Or you could just tell me." She wrapped her hands around her warm mug of tea and grinned.

Alec leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, attempting to appear casual. "There's really nothing to tell, Ellie.” Alec’s expression was blank. "She plans on opening tomorrow. I'm bringing lunch to her at noontime."

She waved off the reply. “Don’t change the subject. Talking about you and Rose. You're glad she's back, right? I know I am, if only for the fact that you've been a bastard for two weeks. And because she's my friend."

Alec pressed his lips into a flat line and nodded affirmatively, but then frowned, looking up at the ceiling tiles again.

She scowled.

He muttered.

"Please tell me you aren't being an idiot and having second thoughts," Ellie frowned.

Alec quickly returned his chair to the upright position. He shook his head in firm denial. "No, I am not having second thoughts." He furrowed his brows. "I suppose I _am_ being cautious though. Need to proceed slowly. Carefully,” he said, direct. “We both want the same thing. To make it work. But you know how these things go under  _normal_  circumstances."

"And by _these things_ you mean being a normal human and actually caring for someone?" Ellie smirked.

Alec scrubbed his jaw line. “I’m not exactly a genius when it comes to relationships. And she doesn't seem to believe that I trust her, even though I have tried to assure her that I do." Alec looked away, now feeling a tinge of regret that he had shared so much.

"Good lord, give it some time," grumped Ellie. "The two of you had hardly even been a proper couple when everything blew up in your face."

Alec stiffened. "You know, I really don't want to be discussing this at the station."

Ellie nodded, and then put down her mug. She breathed in deeply and sighed long and hard. "No, you're right. I'm sorry I pushed you."

Alec squared himself to his desk and folded his hands. ”You said you had cases we need to discuss.”

"Right. Forensics have filed their final report on the Moore Close residential break-ins. They found common fingerprints in every house. Definitely the work of the same two people, but the prints don't match anyone in the system."

"The burglaries seemed amateurish. Teens perhaps? Or first timers,” Alec mused, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And what about the peeping tom? Any more reports of the salacious silver fox?"

"No," Ellie said, snorting a laugh.

"Good. That's good." He pursed his lips and nodded before taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands.

"There is one more thing, but…” Her voice trailed off.

"But what?"

Ellie hesitated. “Steve Connolly. The telephone engineer.”

"Oh bloody hell,” he complained. “Now who’s talking to that nutter from beyond the grave?" Alec's face stretched unnaturally as he dragged his hands down his cheeks.

"No.” Ellie stifled a laugh. “No messages from the great beyond this time. He was found wandering down on the beach this morning. Almost hypothermic. Was muttering to himself. He's in hospital under observation. Says he doesn't remember why he was there, or how he ended up on the beach."

"Perhaps it was a ghostly apparition beckoning to him from the sea," Alec suggested.

Ellie tried to stifle a guffaw.

“But why’s it a police matter?" asked Alec.

"It isn't, but I thought you'd be interested. And that's all I have. And now I have to finish that paperwork I’ve been putting off for three days.” Ellie retrieved her mug. "Say hello to Rose for me. Tell her I won't be in for coffee after all, but she'd better open up tomorrow bright and early or else I'll come over and drag her out _your_ bed." The detective winked.

Alec smirked at Ellie as left his office.

oOo

Rose tuned her radio to BBC Two. The beat of the song du jour filled her shop. She hummed along, gathering the cleaning supplies she needed to sanitise the coffee bar. The shop had been closed for over two weeks, so Rose wanted to make sure that everything was in order to re-open.

Someone knocking on the glass door drew her attention. Chloe waved at her. Rose jogged over, and the little bell on the door jangled as Rose welcomed her employee.

"I was beginning to think you'd never come back to us!" Chloe said happily. She gave Rose a hug.

"Yep. Here I am," Rose replied quietly with a pasted-on smile.

"You all right?" asked Chloe.

"Course," she said, unconvincingly. The realisation that she was about to reveal her secret to Chloe had put a lump in her throat. "Thanks for coming in. Wanna cuppa? I don't have any milk or cream in, so I can't make you any hot chocolate or anything, and I know you don't much fancy espresso."

“Tea’s fine.” Chloe busied herself. She opened a shrink-wrapped parcel of fashion magazines, and then arranged them on a standing rack. "How are you feeling after, the, you know?" Chloe asked awkwardly.

"Getting attacked in my house?" Rose looked over at her.

Chloe nodded. "Lots of gossip about it while you were gone. Most talk was about you and Hardy, though." Slyly, the young woman looked up from her task to see Rose's reaction.

"Oh?" said Rose, not giving anything away.

"Well, it is sorta huge that the two of you are seeing each other. Officially, I mean.” Chloe paused. “It is official, right?" Chloe probed.

"To answer your  _first_  question," Rose smirked, "I'm on the mend. I'm honestly very relieved this drug money business is over.”

Chloe nodded. "So why'd you leave Broadchurch so quick-like anyway?"

"I went home to stay with my family for a while. Needed some time to recover."

Chloe dropped the stack of magazines she was sorting through and crossed the shop. She leaned on the counter. "The news didn't give too much away other than you were hurt. What was the word they used?" Chloe looked into the distance.

“Assaulted,” Rose suggested.

“Yeah. That’s what they called it. I asked Ellie, but she wouldn't tell me anything ’cos of confidentiality and such. How bad were you hurt?" Chloe asked.

Rose hesitated, biting her lip.

"Oh Gwen, he didn't--" Chloe swallowed hard. "He didn't rape you, did he?" she whispered.

Rose reached across the counter and squeezed Chloe's arm. “No, he didn't rape me. I promise, Chloe. And I'm fine now. Rowe knocked me about a fair bit, but he didn't do any permanent damage."

Chloe nodded and released her breath.

"I just really needed to go back to London." Rose sighed. "I had to see my Mum and Dad."

"I'm glad you're back, Gwen. To be honest, I was going mad at home without anything to do except for studying and taking care of Erin." Chloe hesitated, but then spoke. "But Gwen, I'm confused. My mum heard from the lady who cuts your hair that you moved out of your house, but Tildy said that you probably just moved in with Hardy. Did you? Is that what you did? You didn't really have your stuff moved over to Hardy's did you?" asked Chloe, with a slight sneer.

"No," said Rose. "I didn't move in with Alec. Actually, I..." She closed her eyes. "Chloe, I wasn't planning on coming back to Broadchurch. It wasn't just a visit to my parents. That moving van took my things – what was left of them – back to London."

Chloe's mouth fell open. "You would actually move away without saying goodbye? Without even telling me?" Chloe asked, her face screwed up. "Just selling the shop and not even telling me?"

Rose remained silent as she took her time preparing their two individual pots of tea, straining to think of the best way to tell Chloe Latimer. "Here you go." She cleared her throat. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I don't have any biscuits or pastries. Won't have any until the bakery delivers tomorrow morning."

Chloe frowned. "I don't care about biscuits."

Rose looked away for a moment. "I changed my mind about leaving. I decided to come back here. It was wrong of me to just run off like I did."

"Why did you leave, then?" Chloe asked.

"You don't need to know the reasons," said Rose, now looking Chloe in the eye, "because it's personal. But there is something that you do deserve to know."

"Okay." Chloe stretched out the word.

Rose closed her eyes. "Gwen Lewis isn't my real name. My real name is," Rose said, opening her eyes. She looked down into her steaming cup of tea. "My real name, it's Rose Tyler."

Chloe set down her cup. "What?"

"I'm Rose Tyler," she repeated, slightly louder this time, looking up from her fragrant cup of Earl Gray. "I came to Broadchurch to," Rose sighed and shook her head. "No, I didn't come  _to_ Broadchurch, it's more like I _ran away_  from London, from bad memories and my family."

"Why? Were your parents wretched or something? Were they hurting you?" asked Chloe, suddenly full of questions. "Why would you go back to them if-"

"Chloe, just hush it for a moment and listen," Rose pled. "I came here because I needed a fresh start."

"Are you one of those people who has to hide? Because you saw someone do something wrong at work or something?" Chloe gasped. "No! You're in witness protection because Rowe worked for a big time drug cartel, didn't he? And they found you!" She sucked in a breath, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"No, Chloe, I'm not in witness protection, Chloe. Blimey you have a good imagination. Maybe you should write mysteries." Rose chuckled, looking away for a moment. "I honestly wish that were the reason. It would've been easier, probably." Rose shook her head and closed her eyes. "Truth is, I lied about myself. I lied to everyone. To you and Ellie, to Reverend Coates. Even lied to Alec. But I've told Alec and Ellie, and now I'm telling you. I am so sorry Chloe, it seemed the only solution at the time, but it was selfish, and I suppose now is when my real fresh start begins."

For a long moment, Chloe stared at her teacup, her face emotionless. She pushed her tea cup to the middle of the counter towards Rose.

"Please Chloe, say something," Rose said, breaking the silence.

Chloe knocked over a chair as she fled Zoka. Rose didn't call after her. Instead, she cleared the counter of the tea things, and returned to the business of cleaning her shop.

oOo

An hour later, a flat-bed lorry delivered Rose's car in front of the shop. A half an hour after that, Rose had finished readying for her shop to open. She hopped into her little green Fiat and headed to Tesco to buy fresh dairy products and a few groceries she'd noticed Alec needed.

The checkout assistant chatted with Rose mindlessly as she passed the items over the scanner. Rose nodded and smiled, preoccupied with thoughts of the reality of resuming her life in the tight-knit seaside village. It was probable that Chloe would not be the only person who would be angry at Rose for her deceit.

"Debit or credit, Gwen?" asked the woman with the familiar face on the other side of the conveyor belt. She held out her hand to take Rose's credit card.

"Uh…" Rose shook herself from her fog. "Credit. Love those points." She cleared her throat, nervous. Chloe had taken the news badly, and Rose had thought that Chloe trusted her. This time, Rose was telling an acquaintance. How would she take it? "And, um, it isn't Gwen. It's..." She paused for a moment. "It's Rose. My name is Rose." She handed her card to the woman.

"Not sure what you mean, dear," said the greying woman, looking at the name imprinted in gold on the credit card. "Gwen never told us she had a twin sister."

"No. Gwen doesn't have a twin. I'm Gwen–was Gwen, but I changed my name. It's a long story," Rose said awkwardly. Heat flushed her face as she waited for the transaction to process.

"I think I had better see a second form of identification. Your permit to drive? An insurance card?" asked the woman, scowling.

Rose nodded. Her hand shook as she handed over her brand new identification card with updated photograph. Pete had expedited the process the prior week.

The woman scrutinized the identification, and then Rose's face. She looked at the card again. "Well now. According to this, it seems that you are indeed Rose Tyler after all. All right then," she said with a frown.

Wordlessly, Rose gathered her grocery bags and hurried out of the market. She knew she didn’t owe an explanation to the woman — to anyone, but somehow, she couldn’t help feeling guilty.

oOo

Rose was startled from her not-quite-sleep by the sound of someone knocking on the window. She stood from the comfortable leather side chair. She saw Alec struggling to balance two white takeaway containers topped with two drink bottles. Rose hurried to let him in.

"You hiding in the dark from someone?" he asked, stepping into the shop.

"No," she answered with a chuckle. "Just a little tired, and didn't want to open the shop properly. What'd you bring us to eat?"

"It's Tikka Masala. Switch on the lights before I trip and break my nose," he said.

Rose locked the front door, and then switched on the lights while Alec put the food on a table.

"Thanks for bringing lunch," she said quietly.

"My pleasure."

They both moved to pull their chairs from the table. Rose startled at the sharp, squeaking sound that assaulted her ears as metal met tile. Alec frowned slightly, seeing the look on her face as she gingerly sat down.

"Smells good," Rose said absently. She picked up her fork, and held it poised over the open container of fragrant food, but hesitated before taking a bite.

“Thought you liked Indian food,” he frowned.

"No. Of course. I mean yeah. I love it."

"Coulda fooled me, judging from the look on your face." He set his own fork down and leaned back against the seat, arms crossed. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry Alec, it's not the food." Rose set the fork back down.

"You're not all right, are you?" He leaned forward and uncrossed his arms.

"No, not really." She propped her elbow on the table, and dropped her heavy head into her hand. "I told two people my real name this morning." Briefly, she looked back up at Alec, then dropped her gaze back to the table. "Chloe was so angry that she left without even shouting at me."

He frowned.

"The second time was at Tesco's. The checkout lady called me Gwen. I told her my name was Rose, 'cos my credit card has my real name on it now, and I didn't want there to be any sorta scene about a stolen credit card or something. She looked at me like I was some sort of a criminal. Asked for second form of ID. She was doing the right thing, I know that, but I can't help but think that people aren't gonna trust me anymore."

"Does that really matter?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Do you really care what some stranger or — or — the woman at Tesco thinks?"

"Of course I care!" she growled. "And Chloe isn't a stranger."

"Sorry, I think that came out wrong," he said. "What I am trying to say is that perhaps you shouldn't worry so much about people who don't know the real you. The people who care about you will understand. Chloe included. Give her some time."

"Time?" Rose asked with a sad smile. "Bit rich coming from you, Alec." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You didn't give me any time, did you?"

"I was the one who needed time. And I apologised too, didn't I?" he said contritely.

Rose closed her eyes and nodded her head.

Alec opened and closed his mouth. "I'm sorry. We both ran. We both made mistakes."

"You're right. Both of us.” She looked out the window. "I wonder what Reverend Coates is gonna think of me? And the people over at The Echo.” She sighed and closed her eyes. "I really hope Ollie doesn't decide that I'd make a good human interest story." Rose pushed the chicken around with her fork.

"I'll talk to Ollie and Maggie, tell them to steer clear," he said protectively.

Rose looked up. "I wasn't asking for your help."

"I know you weren't," Alec said, half smiling. "But I don't want to see anyone exploiting your privacy — our privacy — for a bloody story."

Rose smiled at him. "Thanks."

"I see your car was delivered today. Your father works quickly."

"He does have connections.” Rose smirked as she pierced a chunk of the fragrant chicken. "Oh, this is really good. Where'd you get it?"

"New Indian place opened while you were gone," he explained.

Rose nodded and tucked into her lunch. "Anything else happen while I was gone that I need to know about?" She dipped a piece of naan into the sauce.

"Only that I was impossible to be around."

Rose giggled. "I bet you were. Did you even shave while I was gone?"

He levelled a sharp look at her, and then released it into a smile. "No. No one to impress."

"Blimey, I owe Ellie a wine and chocolate night, don't I? Leaving you like I did." Rose smiled. "Want a cup of tea instead of that fizzy drink?”

Alec looked at his watch. "I'd love one. But you'll need to make it for takeaway."

"Okay." Having finished her meal, Rose cleared away her container, washed her hands, and began preparing Alec's tea. "My things are arriving tomorrow," she said from behind the counter.

Alec left the table, and leaned on the counter, watching her work. "So you're moving back into your house?"

"I was only staying with you because of Rowe. We weren't _living_ together."

Alec nodded, lips pursed. "I'll miss having you there every night."

Rose smiled, and lifted her eyes from her task for a moment, locking with his. "I'm not gonna run off again."

"I should hope not."

Rose finished Alec's tea, and handed him the paper cup. "It's on the house."

"You know how I feel about not paying for my complicated tea," Alec said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Nope.” She smiled, and leaned on the counter.

“Well then,” he said, “I’ll just have to pay you tonight with a more pleasurable form of currency.”

Rose cleared her throat, smiling. ”I thought we were taking things slow.”

Alec straightened his back. “Right. But for the record, that’s your decision. I’ll never force you. Ever. But I want you, Rose.”

Rose tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose starts fessing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More persuasive and frustrated Alec. More confused Rose. Again, not dub-con or non-con in my opinion. Just offering full disclosure. Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I know that some people really need to know these things before they read.

Rose walked through the ancient graveyard, the final resting place of the corporeal remains of past congregants of the Church of Saint Bede. She found it difficult not to dwell on the morbidity of her surroundings given her experiences with death and loss. Headstones and monuments flanked her on every side, silent declaration to the frailty and fleeting nature of life. But running away from Death, the fear of facing its reality had led her to deceive those whom she loved. And that was one of the reasons she was walking towards the church.

She cleared the cemetery and headed to the Senior Centre. The unofficial social director, Miss Violet Booth, solemnly informed Rose that Reverend Coates was performing a very important chore. The octogenarian directed Rose to take a look inside the church.

“Hello?” Rose's voice echoed within the walls of Saint Bede’s. “Reverend Coates?”

“I’m up in the balcony,” called the vicar. “I’ll be right down.” Brisk footsteps preceded his appearance.

“Gwen. Oh. Hello,” he said. The vicar paused for a moment, mouth agape. “Hello.” He cleared his throat. “I uh, said that already, didn’t I? I didn’t — I thought —” He scratched his head. “Ellie told me you’d moved out of town. I saw her at a footie match last week.”

Rose looked at a stained glass window to Paul’s right and swallowed her nerves. “Is it okay that I just walked in? Miss Violet said you were here in the church. She said you were doing something important. I’m not interrupting you am I?”

“No interruption.” He chuckled to himself. “Miss Violet Booth has a flair for the dramatic. I was just changing a lightbulb.”

She tucked a stray lock of honey-blonde hair behind her ear. “I don’t have an appointment or anything, but do you have time to talk?” Rose’s voice broke and she closed her eyes for a moment, and then caught her breath. “I really need to talk to you.”

“Of course. Are you all right, Gwen? You look upset.”

She furrowed her brow, but did not answer.

“Let’s go to my study. It’s warmer there. This old stone church is draughty.”

Rose followed Reverend Coates as he made his way down one of the side aisles, and then through a side door just beyond the nave.

He opened the heavy wood door to his study and ushered her through, and then closed it behind himself. 

Rose saw that Paul had made the room — which could have been cold and harsh with its grey stone walls — feel warm and comfortable. Soft light streamed in through the stained glass windows which were several feet above their heads. Framed photos of serious looking men wearing the garb of the Church hung in a straight row above the vicar’s modest wooden desk. A well-worn paperback copy of  _Mere Christianity_  and his open Bible were next to a yellow pad of paper covered with notes written in precise, boxy handwriting.

“Sorry. I keep meaning to bring in a few comfortable chairs,” said the vicar, nodding at a hard looking, straight-backed wooden pew.

“No. It’s fine.” Rose cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you played the guitar,” she said casually, trying to gather her courage to tell him what she came to admit.

Paul turned in his office chair, and looked at the honey-coloured instrument leaning into the stone-walled corner.

“I do. Not well, mind,” he said with a half smile. “Well enough for leading songs at youth meetings.” He paused. “So, Gwen…” Paul leaned over his knees and clasped his hands in front of him. “If you don’t mind me saying, you seem apprehensive. How can I help?”

Rose’s pasted-on smile faded. “That’s ‘cos I am.” She covered her face with her hands for a moment, then looked back up. “Paul, I consider you a friend. In fact, you were one of the first friends I made when I moved here last spring.” Briefly, she offered him a small smile. “And I really appreciate how welcoming you were. It can be hard for a newcomer to fit in when they move to a small town. New people are often the target of gossip and suspicion. But you accepted me at face value.” She breathed in and out deeply, long and slow. “But after you hear what I’m about to tell you, I’m sure you will feel betrayed and angry. Seems to be the common response.”

“Go on,” he prompted slowly.

She looked down into her lap. “As you know, I moved from London to Broadchurch to make a fresh start. That’s completely true. But really, I was running _away_ from London — from the person I was.”

“All right,” he said, though he was not angry, and there was no judgment in his tone. “Lots of people have a past that they’re not proud of, Gwen. We all have things that we might be ashamed of. I know I do.”

“Probably not a double life,” she said, barely audible.

“You’d be surprised,” he replied, matching her quiet tone before returning to a conversational volume. “But you’ve taken steps to move on with your life, to make that fresh start. Opening your coffee shop, making friends, building relationships. I’m going to take a giant leap here. You told Alec about your past. He was the one who felt betrayed, right?”

She nodded. “I did tell him, and yeah, he was angry, all right. But I think you may have the wrong idea about what I’m talking about. I wasn’t trying to get away from anything I’d done that was illegal or immoral or anything. I was…” She blew air through her lips. “I was the only survivor of an explosion, and I felt responsible for it. I lost my best friend. And over a dozen co-workers were killed too. And I loved each and every one of those people. They were like family to me. I just couldn’t see anything good ever happening to me again. I felt like I was drowning there, Paul. I had no hope. None. So my dad, my stepdad, he, well, let’s say he has  _connections._ He arranged for me to have a new identity here in Broadchurch. New name, new house, new business, new everything. And not even Mum knew about it. She thought I was on an extended vacation, recuperating from my injuries.”

“Gwen, I’m —” He sat in stunned silence.

“Angry? Feel like I’ve betrayed you, too?” she offered, looking at the heavy wooden door.

“No, not really. Astonished, I suppose.” He sat without speaking for a moment, simply looking at her. “You don’t seem the type of person to be able to pull off such an enormous deception.”

She sighed as she remembered all of the times she had lied about her identity with the Doctor and on Torchwood missions.

“Okay, why don’t you start at the beginning. If your name isn’t Gwen Lewis, what is your name?”

She looked him in the eye, sitting tall on the hard bench. “My name is Rose Tyler.”

“That’s a nice name,” he said. “So then you weren’t in an auto crash like you told me. It was a workplace accident. Why did you want people to think you were in a crash? There’s no shame in being hurt in an explosion.”

“I know,” she said. “It just hurt too much to think about the explosion. I didn’t lie about being hurt, though. I was hurt. Very badly. Skull fractures, brain injury, multiple bones were broken. And burns. Lots of burns.” She ran a hand through her short blonde bob. “Used to have much longer hair. Remember how short it was when I opened up Zoka? That’s ‘cos of the accident. Most of it burnt off. Drew too much attention. People staring at me, wondering what had happened, so I had it all chopped off.”

“But you lived, and that is a wonderful thing.” He smiled for the first time since Rose had started to reveal her secret.

“Yeah. It is.” Rose returned her attention to Reverend Coates, and returned his smile.

He opened his mouth, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “So you said you told DI Hardy.”

She nodded. “He was the first person I told,” she said, speaking barely above a whisper. “I was at Alec’s house. Decided that I needed to tell him. I’d just returned from London after visiting my dad.”

“Your father had a heart attack, didn’t he? How is he doing?” the Reverend asked, leaning forward.

“Doing better. He’ll be fine if he keeps to his diet, and reduces his stress.” Rose sighed. “He covered for me — like I said, Mum didn’t even know. That didn’t help his stress situation either.” She shook off a shiver. “But then, going home, it helped me realise that I had to go back to being me. Back to being Rose. So right when I got back from London, I went to Alec’s. I showed him pictures of my family and the friends that I’d lost. I brought a big box of things from London. Things I’d hidden away. Trying to forget all of it.” She stopped, and picked her fingernails.

“Go on,” Paul encouraged.

“So I told him my real name, who I really was.” Tears welled in Rose’s eyes as she remembered how much his rejection had hurt. “As you can imagine, Alec didn’t take it very well.” She sniffed and batted the tears from her eyes. “So anyway, I left his house, and went back to mine. But Rowe was there waiting for me, and well, you know what happened next. I got knocked about pretty bad. And then when the police came, Alec was there of course, and he saw how I handled myself with Rowe, and was even more angry.” The words spilled from Rose’s mouth. 

“He couldn’t understand how I could possibly have the strength or ability to defeat someone twice my size.”

“I heard about that. Whole town knows about our mixed martial arts grand master.”

Rose did not acknowledge Paul’s comment. “At the hospital, I told Ellie the truth. She was angry, but she accepted me at least.”

“She could sympathise,” Paul added.

“Yeah.” Rose nodded her head.

“I’m sorry about Alec,” he said earnestly. “I know the two of you were growing closer.”

She cracked a small smile. “We’ve decided to try and work things out. Alec came down to London yesterday and asked me to come back to Broadchurch. He didn’t want me to move away.”

“And are you? Moving back that is?”

“Yeah. I’m moving back into my house as soon as my things arrive. And I’m re-opening Zoka tomorrow.”

“Thank you!” said the vicar looking heavenward, his palms pressed together as if offering a prayer of thanks. “I have really missed your coffee.”

Rose laughed. “Certainly there’s another place in town that makes a decent cuppa.”

“There are a few places but nothing compares to your coffee and hospitality.”

“Ta.” Rose grinned brightly.

“There used to be a proper café but the owners shut down soon after the Latimer case was solved.”

Rose hummed in acknowledgment.

“So. Alec took it hard, but seems to be coming around. Ellie was angry, but she understood. So why are you worried?” Paul asked.

“Chloe.”

“Ah,” Paul said, nodding.

“She didn’t take it well at all. I told her this morning, and she ran off.”

“Our little blonde sprinter.” He cleared his throat. “That wasn’t very professional of me, was it?”

“I promise not to tell the Bishop,” Rose teased.

“You know, news is going to start to spread about you. How do you think that’s going to make you feel?” he asked.

“I already know. The cashier at the grocers looked at me like I was some sort of a criminal when I handed her my credit card.”

“People don’t like to be lied to, Rose.”

“I know.” She looked down at her fingernails. She started to peel at them, but stopped herself.

“Do you have some sort of a plan? How you are going to tell people?”

“You mean, like an announcement or something? Put up a billboard on the road coming into town?” she asked between nervous laughs.

“That would definitely be effective,” he said with a wry smile. “But no, not an announcement per se. What I mean is this. It’s going to happen again, Rose.” He blinked a few times, and then leaned forward in his chair. “Let’s say one of your regulars comes into the shop and orders tea and an almond croissant. He or she greets you good morning, and asks how you’re doing, and they call you Gwen. How do you plan on responding?”

“I suppose I’ll tell them my name isn’t Gwen, it’s Rose, and then I’ll wait for the shocked look.”

“People are going to have questions.” Paul raised his eyebrows. “I think you will owe at least a bit of an explanation, not–“

She furrowed her brow. “It’s none of their business,” she grumbled.

“You’re right, it isn’t. However, if we’re talking about someone you have  _any_  sort of a relationship with, don’t you think you owe them more than a simple my ‘name isn’t Gwen, now deal with it’?” the vicar asked, somewhat corrective in his tone. “You’ve made a lot of friends here in Broadchurch. Do you really want to start all over again? Because if you simply let the word spread on its own, a lot of people are going to have a very difficult time trusting you.”

Rose looked at the ceiling and sniffed.

“But, if you do something _proactive_ , tell the truth up front, they’ll understand. I promise. This town has truly suffered these last few years. People’s emotions are fragile, and you’ve become one of us now. You aren’t a newcomer anymore,” he said kindly. “The truth. That’s going to be the best thing.”

Rose frowned. “Right. The truth.” She barked a laugh. “People aren’t going to believe the whole truth. And I can’t tell them everything.” She sighed. “Some of it’s classified,” Rose said under her breath.

Paul’s mouth fell open.

“—and other parts I don't plan on sharing, because some things just aren’t anyone’s business but my own.”

Paul held his hands up. “I understand, Rose, and I’m not encouraging you to share anything you aren’t able to share.” He paused, and quirked his face. “But classified? Really?”

Rose pinched her lips, and tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress a laugh. “Yeah. If you can believe it.” She shook her head and smiled for a moment. “I’ll suppose I’ll answer the questions as they come, and they can take it or leave it. I can’t really control what people think of me.” She shrugged and looked away.

Paul was quiet for a moment. “Listen, I’m not going to pressure you. Would you like to come in and talk again? Formally I mean. I have a degree in counselling, and my specialty is PTSD. Am I right that you never spoke to anyone — professionally that is — after the explosion?”

She nodded. “My dad tried to convince me to, but I refused. Thought I could get past it my own way.”

“But now you believe you need counselling?”

Rose nodded. “Yeah.”

“What were you before? A spy or something?” he asked, laughing nervously.

Rose shook her head. “Not as such, but I’ll have to have you cleared all the same. You’re not a security risk, are you?” she asked in a somewhat teasing tone.

“Uh, no. I’m a very boring, insomniac vicar who sort of plays the guitar.”

“I didn’t think so. And…” She paused. “Maybe, would it be okay, if I brought Alec along sometime? Might help us work things out, too.”

“Absolutely,” he said as he nodded. “But do you think he’ll agree to that?”

"I do.” She paused. “I hope.”

“He might. He’s different since you came to town. Much less…” The vicar stopped to think of the right word, not wanting to speak ill of the man with whom Rose was involved.

“Grumpy? Irritable? All-around git?” she said with a straight face.

“Possibly.” The vicar nodded, and then smiled.

“And if he refuses, I’ll just have to withhold his Earl Grey privileges until he agrees.” Rose broke into a smile.

Reverend Coates laughed. "I think that would likely do the trick."

They made arrangements to meet on Tuesday evenings at eight.

oOo

Chloe sat on a bench across the street from her job. She allowed herself to become hypnotised by the ocean's never-ending cycle; the waves broke, water washed up onto the sand, and then retreated back into the ocean. She pushed her hands deeper into the pockets of her parka, huddling inside the billowy puff. She winced as the wind flung sand at her face. 

She pulled her mobile from her pocket, and tapped the screen a few times with her thumb. "Hey, Mum. Can you come pick me up and take me home?"

“I still have a few hours here. Thought you were at work?"

"I'm done."

"You finished already? Did you meet your new boss, what with Gwen moving back to London."

"She didn't move away. She's back." Chloe gritted her teeth. "And I'm _done_. With the job. Not going back." Chloe bristled hearing her mother's sigh.

"Why? Were you sacked?"

"No." Chloe slouched lower into the bench.

"So what's the problem then? Don't like the new owner?"

"No." 

"Tell me then, what's the problem this time?"

"She didn't move away, she's back, and she isn't even Gwen Lewis. She just told me that was a fake name. She's been lying to everyone, Mum." Chloe stood and paced in front of the bench.

"Gwen? Who? Chloe, you aren't making _any_ sense. And stop shouting." Beth said.

"Yes, Gwen! She's not Gwen, and she's not selling her house, and she's been lying and I'm just so bloody mad!" 

"I'm at work, and I can't leave right now." Beth sighed. "Where are you? You sound like you're outside.

"I'm across from the coffee shop. Near the beach."

"It's too cold to be outside. You'll get sick."

"You can't catch a cold from the cold, Mum. It comes from a virus," she said.

"Stop sassing me. But you still can get a chill, and that cough of yours is already-- Oh never mind. Can't Dean fetch you?" Beth asked.

"He doesn't get off of work 'til after three,” Chloe answered.

"Why can't you go back to the coffee shop and wait there?"

"I am not going back to that shop, and it's about to rain, and I don't want to walk all the way home."

Beth sighed. "Gwen’s been very good to you."

Chloe ignored her mother.

"Right," said Beth. "Why don't you walk up here and tell me the whole story. It can't be that bad, Sweetheart. This is Gwen. She is a good person."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

oOo

Beth handed her daughter a bottle of diet cola. The escaping carbonation hissed as she twisted off the lid.

"Start from the beginning, and tell me exactly what Gwen told you that has you so upset."

Chloe took a sip from the bottle, and then set it on Beth's desk before she crossed her arms. "She called me this morning around nine and asked me to meet her at the coffee shop. Said she was re-opening, and needed my help to get the place ready for customers again. So Dad dropped me there a little before ten on his way to a job. So I come inside and she’s acting really weird. Scared-like. I knew something was off. So I start opening magazines up and arranging them on the racks while she makes us some tea. As she’s pouring the tea, she tells me that her name isn’t really Gwen Lewis, it’s Rose something. I don’t even remember the last name. So then–“

“Her name isn’t Gwen Lewis?” Beth asked, confused. “People change their names for lots of reasons. Maybe she divorced, and decided to go by her middle name? And maybe Lewis was her married name?”

“Nope. She told me that her real name is Rose, and that she changed her name and moved here to get away from bad memories of something that happened in London, back home. And she just left Broadchurch without even saying goodbye, Mum! I was just sitting there for two weeks waiting for her to call when I could’ve been out looking for another job!” Chloe grabbed the bottle of cola and took a few drinks.

“She didn’t do anything wrong though Chloe. In fact, she paid you for your time, even when the shop was closed, didn’t she? You told me that yourself, just last Friday.” Beth tipped her head to the side and watched her daughter.

“Yeah, I got my wages even though I didn’t work.” Chloe looked out the window and fiddled with the bottle cap. “But she still lied.”

“And you’ve never lied? About anything? What about Dean? You lied to us about having an older boyfriend.”

“That’s different. Didn’t want to get him in trouble.”

“Still a lie.” Beth tapped her finger. “Why’d she do it? Come back, I mean.”

Chloe shook her head. “Just said there were bad memories.” She lowered her voice. “She lied to everyone, not just me. Ellie, Reverend Coates, even Hardarse.” She picked her fingernails as she spoke.

“You know I’ve asked you to not call the DI that.” Beth looked at her daughter with soft eyes. 

“Hardy. Whatever.”

“Life can really suck sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Chloe squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. 

“Maybe something really bad happened to her, too. You still have a hard time talking about Danny, right?”

Chloe nodded and then hugged herself.

“She told you she’d been in an accident, right? Maybe that’s what did it. People don’t just up and move and change their name without reason.”

Chloe chewed the inside of her cheek as she stared into her lap, and fiddled with her thumb ring.

“Did she say why she changed her mind?” Beth asked.

The young woman nodded. “Said it was selfish to run away. That's what she called it. Running away. Said she was really sorry, and that she’d already told the DI and Ellie. Opening the shop back up tomorrow,” Chloe said quietly. “I don’t got no job anymore.”

“Why do you say that? You said you weren't fired.”

“‘Cos I ran out on her. Again."

“You’ve always been one to run from your problems. Looks like you and— what's her name again? Rose?"

Chloe nodded.

"You both got something in common. Running.”

“Mum.” A growl bubbled from Chloe’s throat. 

“Go back to the shop. See if she’s there. Or ring her up. Just ask her. You worked for her for nearly nine months.”

"But--"

“No _buts,_ Chloe.” Beth help up her hand. “You need that job. It's a good job. The work is easy, and she's generous with your wages. She gives you time off to go and do things with Dean. And jobs aren’t easy to come by in this town."

Chloe furrowed her brows and crossed her arms.

"She's nice, right?”

Chloe looked up slowly and nodded, dodging her eyes from her mother’s.

“Go on then, call her. Now."

“Mum." Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Do. It. Right. Now. If you don’t, I’m going to stop paying for that mobile of yours.”

“What?” 

Most of the _Echo_ staff turned and looked. Chloe’s face flushed red. Beth raised an eyebrow. Chloe smirked, and then pulled out her mobile, dialed and waited for Rose to answer.

“Hi. Uh, this is Chloe.” She cleared her throat. “I uh, wanted to know, uh, what time you want me in tomorrow, what with re-opening. You keeping the same hours?”

Beth watched her daughter chew her lip while she waited. And then Chloe nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll see you at six then. Bye.” Chloe pushed her phone into the pocket of her parka. “Not sacked, then.” Chloe frowned, and looked out the window.

“Go ask Ollie if a computer is available. Do a tutorial or something.”

Chloe nodded and picked up her cola bottle, walking deeper into the office.

oOo 

“What was that all about?” _Broadchurch Echo_ editor, Maggie Radcliffe, asked as she sat. “Dean giving her troubles?”

Beth leaned forward. “According to Chloe, Gwen Lewis isn’t exactly who we think. Her name isn’t even Gwen. It’s Rose something-or-other. She listed her house for sale, but now she’s changed her mind, and is back. She’s opening her shop back up tomorrow.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows. She found a copy of the previous week's paper and scanned the house listings. "She sent an email asking to place the notice a couple of days after the break-in. Yes. Here it is.”

Maggie folded the paper into quarters and placed in front of Beth. 

"Rather under-priced, don’t you think?” Gwen screwed up her face.

“Like she wants to sell quick. I assume she’s put the house up for sale because of what happened there. She was hurt rather badly. You should’ve seen the pictures that her neighbours sent to me." Maggie tapped her finger on the desk. “Well something changed her mind.”

“You know she’s been seeing the DI, right?” Beth whispered. 

“Maybe he persuaded her to come back.” Maggie smirked. “But DI Hardy and a woman like her? What does she see in him?”

They both chuckled.

"Rose paid Chloe for all the time she was off."

"Generous," Maggie said.

“Yeah.”

“How well do you know her? This Gwen or Rose person?”

“I’ve only spoken with her a few times, really. Been into her shop to get coffee and tea of course, but didn’t really talk about anything important. She seems very kind. Open, even." Beth shook her head. "Doesn’t seem like the type to do something like this.”

Maggie nodded. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it.” She patted Beth’s desk and headed in the direction her lead reporter’s desk.

oOo

Rose heard the front door latch click, and then the telltale squeak of old hardware. She smiled, and placed the wooden spoon on a plate to the right of the cooker.

“Mmmm, something smells good. What are you cooking up in there?” Alec asked. He didn’t bother to take off his dripping raincoat.

Rose met him halfway. “Hello. You’re off work a bit early. Take care of all the bad guys this afternoon?”

“All of the really bad ones. I heard of one particularly nefarious gang that plans to maraud the mean streets of Broadchurch this evening, but the night crew will have to sort them.” He grinned, and then cupped her cheeks, bringing his lips to hers for a soft, lingering kiss.

She hummed and stroked his cheek with her thumb.

“Been thinking about this all afternoon,” said Alec as he pulled away.

“Me too,” Rose answered. “I’m making us a nice dinner. Thought we could have dessert and wine in front of the fire. And have a bit of a talk.”

“Who needs talking? There are much better things we could be doing with our mouths.” Alec nipped at her earlobe.

“I bought a really special wine and some gorgeous locally grown, hydroponic strawberries, and chocolate, and before you tell me about keeping your trim figure, it’s dark chocolate that’s naturally sweetened, organic, soy-free, and non-dairy.”

He removed his lips from her neck and grimaced. “I didn’t know they made such a thing. Doesn’t sound very appealing. With all of the good stuff gone, why bother?”

“It’s good. I promise. I used to eat it all the time when I was at Torchwood.” Her face fell.

“It’s all right to talk about that to me. Go on,” he said.

“When I was a field agent, I kept a stock of it in my locker. I was kept to a very strict diet. I was measured every week. Had to keep a certain body fat to muscle muscle mass ratio. My trainer recommended it as a treat.”

Alec let his hands drift low to the small of her back before slipping them just under the hem other shirt. She sighed as he squeezed her waist. “Not that I have anything against muscles, but I rather like that you are roundish and soft in all the right places.” He returned his lips to her neck.

“The sauce,” she said into his ear, pulling back. “It’s gonna boil over.”

“Sod the sauce.” He backed her into the kitchen as he nibbled the skin over her collarbone. His hands had migrated deeper under her t-shirt somewhere between the hallway and the kitchen, and now he was stroking her belly. “There. I turned off the flame. Wanted to welcome you home properly this morning, but couldn’t get you to wake up.”

Her breathing sped up as he planted kisses across her collarbone, and then to the top of her chest. She gently pushed his head away from her chest, and kissed him hard. “I was tired,” she said between fast, wet kisses. She pushed her fingers into his hair and tugged as she attacked his lips with fervour. It was her turn to push him against the counter.

Alec hooked her leg around his waist, and then changed his mind as he spun her around, lifting her fully onto the counter. “Take this off,” he said, tugging at the hem of her white tee shirt.

“Alec, I just can’t,” she said, pulling away briefly, but then he captured her mouth again, kissing her even more deeply.

“Tell me what you want,” he said, halting the kiss, just a whisper away from her mouth.

“Alec — want — need — please. I need to stop.” She slid off of the counter and caught her breath.

“Why?” He took a step back.

“I told you I need to take things slowly. We rushed before. I definitely wanna snog you. Bad. But I can’t go any further. Not yet. And I don’t wanna lead you on.”

Alec released her, and backed away, blushing. He looked up at the ceiling and drew in a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. I let it get too far.” She crossed her arms protectively. “Plus I need to talk first. There are a few more things — nothing huge, but big enough. And don’t you think we need to talk this — us — through a bit more?” she asked, biting her lip.

“What’s there to talk through?” Alec stroked his stubble. “You're confusing me, woman.” He smirked.

“Told you before. I want to take it slow! And I apologised, didn’t I?” Rose said, voice rising.

“Not about…” He motioned between himself and Rose. “This. About talking.”

“I want to be with you. But I ran off, Alec. Doesn’t that worry you? Don’t you have any _feelings_ you want to share with me about that?” she asked.

"Women and their bloody _feelings_. I've got other _feelings_ at the moment.” Alec smirked and reached for a strawberry. He removed the stem and popped it into his mouth, and then offered one to Rose.

She took a bite of the sweet, ripe berry. A bit of juice escaped onto her lips.

Alec flexed his jaw as he stared at her red-tinged lips. He grinned wickedly, and snatched the half-eaten berry from her fingertips. 

"Hey, that was mine!" Rose protested.

Alec made a show of popping it into his mouth. But then he put his hands around her waist, and pulled her close. With one hand, he cupped her face. 

Their lips met in the middle. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, savouring the sweet berry juice now mingling.

Rose melted into his arms, and toyed with the short hairs at the base of his neck. “I really need to stop. Things to talk about, remember?" she said, pulling away.

Alec dropped his hands from her waist, and put them on his hips.

"Damn it, woman. Talking can wait."

“No! I still have things I want you to know about me. I’m not gonna jump back into bed again! We rushed things the first time! And that’s not who I am!”

“Unless you’re going to tell me -- again -- that you’re not really who you say you are.” He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Nothing could possibly be as important as this. Gods, I’ve missed you. I saw you sleeping there this morning and almost pounced on you.”

“Glad you didn’t,” she said stifling a giggle. “Would rather be awake for that.”

He relaxed his jaw, and then hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans. 

She grimaced. “Sorry. I can’t help it. See? I _do_ want you. But I just can’t do it yet.”

He pulled her against him, and growled into her ear, "Missed you.”

“Missed you too.” Rose gasped, but stayed close. She put one hand on his shoulder, and then relaxed her cheek against his chest. “I missed you so, so much.” Rose drew in a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of what was left of his cologne. His heart beat steadily under her ear. “I got clearance from Dad to tell you the rest of it.” She whispered. “Everything. And I’m a bit afraid you might think I’m off my nut.”

“You? Never. Even if your tea is far too expensive and complicated.”

“I’m being serious.” Rose lifted her head from his chest and looked up into his eyes.

Alec wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled Rose close again. “I love your tea, and don’t change it. I was just teasing. And if you think we need to talk, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Thanks.” She closed her eyes and again relaxed in his arms.

He stroked her arms a few times, and then squeezed her shoulders. “You finish preparing dinner, and I’ll get out of this bloody suit.”

Rose went on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Food will be ready in about forty-five minutes or so.”

Alec sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Think I _need_ to go for a run." 

“I’d come with you if I didn’t have to fiddle with this risotto every minute or so.”

“No,” he almost barked. “You stay here and stir your rice.”

Alec changed out of his work clothing and headed out the back door towards the grounds of the Broadchurch Estate. 

Rose turned her attention to the risotto -- stirring, adding broth, stirring, thinking. More thinking. 

The conversation had to happen. No putting it off.

When Rose had told Alec the truth -- her _real_ name -- she'd offered him a glimpse of herself. But this, _this_ was something completely different. Tonight, she would be exposing herself fully.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose tells Alec _everything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I do not believe that the depiction of Alec trying to persuade Rose to have sex with him is either dub-con or non-con. He is, however, trying his best to persuade her. She is giving mixed signals, but she also owns up to it. Real relationships are complicated, messy, and often confusing. Trying to keep it real, people.

"You're a fantastic cook," Alec said. He ate a strawberry. 

"Thanks." Rose grinned. "But you don't like the chocolate do you?" she asked. 

"How'd you guess?" He frowned and poked the bowl, pushing it closer to Rose.

"'Cos you've only dipped one strawberry, and've been eating plain ones since."

He raised a single eyebrow.

"I'd make a good DI, then?" She dipped a berry, and made a show of licking the berry clean of chocolate. 

"How can you eat that?" Alec grumbled. 

"S'good!" 

"Rose, that chocolate." He pointed. "It's absolutely atrocious. I hate it. Tastes like chalk. How can you eat that shite?"

Rose smirked at his grimace. "Oh come on, it isn't that bad. I mean, it may not be as good as–"

"Woman, it is _that_ bad. Was this the last bar on the shelf at Tesco?" He pointed disdainfully at the bowl. "You must've been desperate."

She raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. But then a wave of images, tastes, and feelings flooded her mind: hastily eaten meals chosen for maximum nutritional efficiency; somewhat metallic and vegetal protein bars stuffed into pockets of her blue leather jacket; forcing herself to eat the engineered food bars in dark alleys as quickly as possible, leaving her jaw sore from chewing the nutritionally dense meal replacements. The food represented disappointment, failure, and loss. _Forgot just how bad this stuff was,_ she thought to herself.

Alec misunderstood her silence as a challenge. "Eat some more of if it's so good, Tyler."

"Did you just call me Tyler?" she replied, shaking off the bad memories. It was so easy to fall into this fun, flirty banter with Alec Hardy, to put the past behind her. It wouldn't hurt to put off the conversation for just a little while, right?

She plucked the largest strawberry from the bowl. Alec guffawed as she made a show of dunking it in the chocolate, deep enough that her fingertips were covered with the molten confection. She popped the whole strawberry into her mouth, discarded the stem, and then licked her fingers one by one.

"You baiting me, Tyler? I may just bite, you know." He leaned in close.

Rose drew in a quick breath as he grasped her wrists with one hand, as if preparing to cuff her. "I may have to take you in for multiple culinary violations."

"Gonna cuff me?" Rose blanched the moment the innuendo-laden words left her mouth.

Casually, Alec turned his body halfway and draped one arm across the back of the sofa, now facing her fully. She blushed under Alec's scrutiny. He took a sip of his wine, never removing his eyes from hers.

"I was," she cleared her throat, "joking about the cuffs," Rose said, back-pedalling.

"Were you now?" he asked, moving closer to her.

His voice was deep, and sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Her breathing sped up as she smelt the sweet tang of wine on his breath. It would taste lovely straight from his lips. And those lips that were now inches from hers.

She brought her wineglass to her mouth, blocking Alec's lips, trying to keep her mind on what she had to tell him. She avoided his eyes.

"Still need to talk. I can’t let myself get distracted." She mentally flogged herself for giving him mixed messages. Just an hour before, she had gently halted his advances. But moments ago, she had given him an implicit invitation only to yank it away.

He looked at her lips with a dark grin. "You've got a bit of that terrible chocolate on your lip." Alec procured a paper serviette. Purposefully, he let his pinkie finger graze her cheek as he dabbed the corner of Rose's mouth. He lingered for a moment before retreating to his side of the sofa.

Rose watched Alec swirl the wine in his glass, breathe in the bouquet, and then take a sip. He looked so comfortable, so relaxed. But he also looked like a man who was about to pounce. It thrilled her, warmed her from the inside out, increased her heart rate, tingled her neck, fingers, toes, and places in between. Rose shifted in her spot to find a more comfortable position, as she was beginning to feel her body's natural responses revving up. He had warned her that he was would test her resolve, and he was doing a damn fine job of it.

Just the way he was looking at her could easily persuade her to put off the talk, to willingly fall into his ready arms, and to jump right back into bed. He was doing nothing to hide his survey of her body. His eyes repeatedly flicked down to her hint of cleavage, back up to her lips, and then to her belly. 

And oh, how she had missed his eyes while they were apart. The intensity, honesty, fierceness, and resolve that she had seen in them had drawn her to Alec Hardy from the start. And now that the hurt that had been there when they'd first met was all but gone, she knew those eyes of his would be even more persuasive tonight.

And his lips… they were stained red from the wine, and his face was slightly flushed from the higher alcohol content of this particular vintage. Alec looked delicious. She could almost feel those lips on her. Their first time had been hesitant, but beautiful nonetheless. During their second time together, they had still held back a bit, but knew what to expect. But the next time, she had a feeling that neither of them would hold back. Rose imagined them wrestling for the upper hand, each of them giving and taking, and then finally the weight of his lean body would rest on top of hers. Their limbs would tangle as they frantically sought pleasure, and then they would come together in toe-curling ecstasy– 

 _Stop it Rose!_ Rose silently screamed, balling her fists willing away her spiralling thoughts.

The Merlot had certainly lowered her inhibitions. Rose knew that she had needed to relax, but she probably shouldn't have accepted a second glass. She couldn't –  _wouldn't_  – put this conversation off any longer, so she set down her glass of wine. On the side table next to her, she saw an insulated water bottle that Alec must have left there after his run. She grabbed it and drank the still-chilly contents in a series of fast gulps, and then wiped her lips on her sleeve. The cold water effectively gave her an additional mental slap-down. 

"Was a bit thirsty," she said quietly to herself.

"It's going to be a cold night," said Alec, breaking his own silence. "It's damp. We'll have to huddle up close to keep warm in that cold bedroom of mine."

Rose nodded, keeping her eyes off of Alec. She needed to focus on the here and now.

While firelight danced across her features, very little warmth from the fire was reaching the sofa. Rose shivered again, fighting the cold that had settled in the room.

"You've caught a chill. Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked. The teasing tone was gone, replaced with concern.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'm done with my wine. Opening up the shop tomorrow you know, and I'm already feeling that glass and a half. Don't wanna oversleep," she rambled.

Alec picked up the tray of strawberries and chocolate and headed towards the kitchen. Rose retrieved the wine glasses and the nearly empty bottle of wine. Wordlessly, they worked in tandem tidying up the dinner and dessert messes. Alec re-corked the bottle of wine and then filled the dishwasher as Rose prepared tea.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Alec asked, holding the bowl of chocolate sauce.

“Bin it,” she said without hesitation.

"My faith in you has been restored," he said with a smile.

"Strange. I remember it tasting so much better back when I was in training."

"Well, it probably tasted fantastic in comparison to everything else you were eating on that strict diet of yours."

The kettle switched off, and Rose poured the water into a goldenrod-coloured, squat, round, ceramic teapot.

"I bought that teapot just last week," Alec said quietly, inclining his head towards the teapot. He paused for a moment. "The colour, it reminded me of your shop. Of you." He breathed in and out deeply. "I missed you very much. Even when I was angry."

Rose remained still for a moment. "Alec," she began softly, still holding the teapot. "When did you stop being angry at me?"

Alec took the teapot from her and set it on the counter, and then took her hands into his. He pulled her close. "After Ellie knocked some sense into me. But don't tell her that."

She nodded, smiling softly, thankful for a friend like Ellie Baker.

Alec kissed her forehead, and let his lips linger there. "Now. You said you have some things you need to talk about."

Rose paused, looking down at their clasped hands. "You almost made me forget all about that." She closed her eyes. "Actually, not forget. More like... want to put off."

"Better talk fast, or you'll lose your chance." Alec teased.

“Stop it, Alec. I have to tell you this last part," she said, this time completely earnest and making her intent clear.

Alec's eyebrows drew together. He nodded. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t push you.”

“I understand,” she said looking at her fingernails. “Believe me. I wanna do it right this time, y’know?”

She reached for the teapot. He retrieved two mugs that matched the new teapot, and together they made their way back into the lounge. This time, they sat close, cuddling together on one half of the sofa with a well-worn quilt spread over their laps.

Rose knew that this was it. This was the moment all would be laid bare. Would Alec laugh in her face? Storm off? Believe her without question? Be angry all over again? Feeling wave after wave of nerves in her belly, Rose drew in a deep breath and released it, still unable to calm herself. 

"Guess I'll just get right to it. Alec, remember the Cybermen? Lumic and all that?"

"Who could forget?" he said, shuddering. "Stuff of nightmares."

"Tell me what you know about the Cybermen," she said.

Alec blew air through his lips. "Being in law enforcement, we were briefed of course, but I always thought there was more to it than the explanation that was given. The technology was far too advanced. Everything happened too quickly. The infrastructure alone necessary to accomplish the cyberising of those poor souls would have taken millions and millions of pounds and years to build. And the earbud technology? How could no one have known it was actually remote mind control? How could the press have not known? One bloody Tweet about Danny Latimer's death, and representatives of most of the British press descended on this town within a single day." His eyes drilled into her.

"My stepdad knew all about it, y'know," Rose said quietly. "He used to work for Lumic. Vitex was a subsidiary. He found out what Lumic was doing, and he started feeding information to a group of people who were trying to bring Lumic down. They called themselves the Preachers."

"I remember the Preachers," said Alec. "Go on." He nodded.

"So Jake Simmonds was one of the members of that group -- one of the Preachers. So was Mickey, my friend who died. If it weren't for them, we'd probably all have been cyberised."

Alec breathed in deeply and thought for a moment, connecting dots. "Torchwood, your father's security firm... You told me he founded it after the murder of his first wife at the hands of the Cybermen, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. After that, he sold his majority interest in Vitex to what was left of the board of directors of Cybus, and he used most of the money to establish Torchwood. The the Preachers -- the ones who'd survived -- they were the first Torchwood agents."

"You and James, were you part of the Preachers?" asked Alec, brows furrowed.

"No." Rose shook her head. "I told you before about the night that the Cybermen attacked, how James and I ended up at my stepfather's mansion. Remember?"

"Yes. You snuck in posing as waiters. I saw video."

Rose swiveled her head to look at him. "You did?"

"Your stepfather showed it to me when I came down to London. It was the surveillance video from the night that the President was assassinated at his house. I saw his first wife, and... and I saw you and James."

Rose fiddled with the handle of her mug, trying to come up with something to say.

Alec swallowed hard. "I have to say, I was taken aback."

"To see," Rose's voice cracked. "To see a woman who looked exactly like my own mum, married to a man who looked exactly, totally identical to my own dad... my dead dad... It was…" Rose squeezed out a few tears. "It was hard, you know? And she wasn't very nice, and Pete didn't want anything to do with me." 

Alec handed her a tissue and she dabbed her eyes.

"But he wasn't your father, Rose. Why were you even at that party?"

Rose crumpled the tissue, and then began to pull pieces off of it. "Earlier that day, I saw a picture of Pete Tyler on an advertisement, and I thought it would be..." Rose paused. "...interesting to meet him. I mean, he looked exactly like my dad, and James and me, we were always up for an adventure. James warned me, he said it was a bad idea, but I wouldn't listen to him, so I told him I'd go off on my own and find him myself.

"Of course, James followed me. I suppose he didn't want me to wander off on my own." Rose quirked a crooked smile. "He said if I was so determined to meet the man, then he'd find a way. He did of course." She smiled sadly. "He was a genius after all." She shook her head at the memory and continued. "We pretended to be part of the catering staff. Later that night, the Cybermen attacked."

"So you'd never seen those talking Vitex advertisements before that day?"

"James and I had been... out of the country for a while. Vitex was sort of an overnight sensation, and I'd never heard of it before. But seeing him wink at me on that billboard? I just had to meet him. Wouldn't you?" Rose's eyes begged Alec to understand.

"Aye. I suppose I would."

"What about you, Alec? What was it like to see James? I showed you pictures before, but seeing him walking around on video, moving about, that's gotta be, well, odd."

"Odd?" Alec blinked slowly. "I'd say it was a bit more than just odd. Sent shivers right down my spine. You know, I really don't understand this bit. Your mother married a man who looked exactly like your own deceased father. And your stepfather's first wife was the twin of your own mother. And not only that, I look just like this James of yours. I'm no statistician, but this many likenesses? I don't think coincidence can explain it away. It should be nigh impossible."

"You're right. It  _should_ be impossible. But here we are." Rose shrugged a shoulder, chewing her lip. "And that's what I needed to tell you about tonight. I couldn't tell you before because, well, it's going to change everything. Not between us, but... how you see..." Rose swallowed hard. "Your view of the universe is gonna change, Alec."

Alec furrowed his brows. "What are you getting at?"

"Alec, me and my mum and Mickey my best mate..." Rose tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

He nodded.

"All of us, James too, we... aren't from... here," she said, haltingly. "James and I hadn't just been travelling outside of London. We actually weren't from this London."

"What do you mean by that?"

Rose pinched her lips and passed for a moment. "I'm not from this universe, Alec. I'm from a parallel universe, and–"

Alec halted from taking his next sip of tea, and instead, looked over at Rose, wide-eyed.

"What did you just say?" he asked.

"We are from a parallel universe," Rose repeated quietly.

Alec remained silent, staring at Rose with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Some of the Cybermen survived, Alec, and they found a way to my universe. The security footage of me and..." Rose blinked and swallowed, not quite ready to explain the Doctor. She was saving that for last. "...of me and James. That was from the first time we were here in this universe. The first time," Rose said nervously, her words speeding up. "The first time we came here, we were able to make it back safely. But getting stuck here permanently was an accident."

"I'm not following." He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "Other universe? What are you talking about?!" The quilt fell to the floor as Alec stood from the sofa. He put his hands on his hips and silently paced in front of the sofa for at least a minute.

"Alec. Please. Say something," she said, nearly whispering.

He stopped, looked at her his mouth agape, and then dropped back onto the sofa. His mouth remained wide open.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Believe you?" Alec squinted and ran his hand through his hair. "I have absolutely no idea what you are even trying to tell me."

"I'm not crazy," said Rose, voice quiet. "I'm not." Protectively, she hugged herself.

They fell into silence. Alec pulled the quilt back off of the floor and arranged it over Rose's lap. They both stared into the fire and sipped their tea as the clock on the mantel ticked away the minutes.

oOo

In his line of work, Alec Hardy met all sorts of people. Most of the of time the witnesses, suspects, family members, and victims. They spoke the truth, they lied, or offered a mix of the two. But he could remember a few individuals that wove fantastic stories of conspiracy theories, the supernatural, unexplained events. Crackpots, he would call them.

And now it seemed that Rose sincerely believed this _unbelievable_ story. From a parallel universe? Impossible! That was science fiction! 

Alec controlled his breaths and stared at the crackling fire. And then a thought crossed his mind. What if her brain injury had been more serious than Rose had led him to believe? Even worse than she knew herself? Was she delusional? He mulled for a moment. He didn't think so. He hadn't seen or heard anything to lead him to believe that. 

And there was _some_ truth to her story. Pete's involvement with Lumic did make sense. Rose and James _had_ been at the Tyler mansion that terrifying night that the President was assassinated. That devastating night of the Cybermen -- those facts could not be denied. 

He trusted Pete Tyler. 

And he trusted his own eyes. 

Torchwood was a real organisation. Vitex was an actual company. Pete obviously had connections in high places. Rose was a skillful fighter and well-trained athlete. She'd taken down both of the Rowe brothers, and had escaped her ruthless captor. Again, he'd seen that with his own eyes.

He thought back to Pete's description the explosion. It had been catastrophic. Was this just another step in her recovery from the brain injury? Could this be her mind's way of coping with such agonising loss? 

Alec remembered what Ellie had told him a few days before. That love was a choice. That Rose was hurting. That in choosing to love Rose, he was choosing to do what was best for her. He _knew_ that she needed to be treated gently. He loved her. 

Her family had trusted him enough to bring him into their circle of secrets. 

_She was hurt very badly. This story is her way of processing things. There's no other explanation._

Alec came to a decision. He was choosing to show his love for her through his actions. 

Sneaking a sideways glance at Rose, he saw that she'd enshrouded herself within the folds of the enormous blanket. Her hands gripped it up under her chin. Firelight reflected in her watery eyes as she looked straight ahead.

Alec smoothed her fringe off of her forehead. He pried one of her hands from the edge of the blanket. "Care to share the blanket with me, or are you going to selfishly keep it to yourself? This room is chilly."

Rose smirked, offering him half. 

"I could practically feel you thinking. You think I'm crazy, don't you?" 

"I don't think you're crazy." He squeezed her hand, and turned to look at her. "Why don't you tell me more about this alternate universe of yours?"

"Don't patronize me Alec," Rose said, voice quivering. "I know that's what you're doing. I've questioned enough aliens and suspects in my time, and you're talking to me exactly the way I talk to people who are feeding me a line of rubbish!"

What a trauma she must have endured to have created such an elaborate fiction? Alec remembered Ellie's words just a few days before. They were still crystal clear in his mind: "Did you ever stop to think that Rose needs you? Stop thinking about yourself! She was in so much...agony that she gave up her whole life!"

And there it was. Rose needed him. He knew this was going to be one of those times when true love was tested. He was choosing to love her, to show her what unconditional love really meant, even if that meant listening to a ridiculous story about parallel worlds and doppelgängers.

"I'm not. I wouldn't do that to you. I promise," he replied, swallowing hard. He had to be delicate and careful. "I'm sorry that I sounded like I was interrogating you. The DI came out for a moment." He paused. "But I _am_ skeptical by nature. I have to be. Can you understand that?"

Rose furrowed her brows, and nodded.

"I've never been one to believe in UFOs or the Bermuda Triangle or any of that sort of thing. It's hard for me to accept this simply as fact. I rely on proof." His accent was unusually heavy. "Bear with me? I will try not to roll my eyes too much," he said, bumping her side.

She cracked a small smile. "You're willing to hear me out, then?"

"I want you to." He forced himself to smile, but inside, he was hurting for her. His heart was beating hard, and he could feel his stomach twisting into a knot.

Her eyes tightly closed, Rose nodded. She opened them. "Okay, I understand that. You need to hear all of the facts. Maybe I started off the wrong way. Let me start at the beginning. The very beginning."

"From the beginning, then." Alec nodded and looked her in the eyes, expectantly.

"When I was nineteen, I met a man who would change my life forever. Alec," she hesitated, "James wasn't his real name. He just used that name once as a fake name. Usually went by John Smith, which was _so_ believable." Rose laughed, shaking her head. "His real name _was_ \-- it _was_ \--" She stopped. "No. Not _was._ I need to admit this to myself, just as much as to you. James is still alive, and his real name is the Doctor. This man, he whisked me away to a life beyond imagination." Rose looked into the fire, a series of memories flashing through her mind on fast forward. "He wasn't human, Alec, he was from another planet."

The hairs bristled on the back of his neck, and his hands stiffened. He controlled his breathing, and released his suddenly tighter grip on her hand, which was now in his lap. "Go...go on."

"He was old. Told me once that he was almost a thousand years old. And I knew it was true. I could see it in his eyes. We travelled to the ends of the universe together, but not just in space. Also in time. That picture of the two of us? The one where I was wearing that pink dress? That was taken the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Oh wait. This England doesn't have royalty anymore. Don't know if I will ever get used to that." Rose laughed quietly and shook her head. "That's just one difference. My London doesn't have zeppelins, for example, and our London Eye was taller than the one here." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, that picture of me in the pink dress was taken in 1953. And then you saw that picture of me and the Doctor at the London Olympics in 2012..."

"That's the one I found in the copy of  _The Mystery of Edwin Drood,_ right? When you had the flu?"

"Yes. That was taken in my personal future. Not too far in my own timeline, but far enough."

His investigative mind jumped ahead of her line of thinking. "That's why you look older now, even though it's only been two years since the Games? Because of..." He swallowed and then continued. "Because of time travel?"

She nodded. "I don't really know exactly how old I am. The doctors at Torchwood have done some tests on me, and between my memories and their educated guesses, we figure I'm in my-mid to late twenties. They chose a birth year that makes me twenty-eight."

"Um, how long were you in that coma?" Alec wondered if perhaps she had been in the coma longer than she was told, which would be a logical explanation for her ageing.

"About five weeks."

"Five weeks." He nodded and then cleared his throat. "Um, explain the reason there are doubles again?"

"Parallel worlds. Parallel universes. And there aren't only two universes. Every decision has a consequence, and some decisions are so important that time creates a whole world around the decision if the wrong choice is made. From what the Doctor told me, your particular universe was created when, in another timeline, we were unable to save Queen Victoria from this sorta...werewolf creature."

"Werewolf?" asked Alec, clearly dubious. "As in silver bullets and biting?"

"No. Not a real werewolf. There's no such thing. Well, not that I know of. I wouldn't be surprised though. Nothing surprises me anymore. The creature was alien. Might have even been one of the sources of the werewolf legend all the same."

He tugged on his ear. "There have always been those jokes and rumors about the Royals and their weak blood."

Rose smiled. "So in this world," she continued, "Pete and Jackie Tyler never had children, but they did have a dog named Rose. The Doctor thought that was spectacularly funny, too. And Pete Tyler was really successful and became a billionaire. But in my universe, my dad died when I was a baby, and my mum raised me on her own. Lived in a council estate flat. Once, the Doctor took me back to see Dad, my real dad. I was just a baby. I'd begged him to do it, and he agreed to it, but it was a disaster." Rose squeezed her eyes shut. "Because I was selfish I saved his life. He was supposed to die, and I messed things up by pushing him outta the way of that speeding car and then I had to watch as the world-- anyway. It was almost a disaster. But the Doctor, he straightened it out.

"He almost chucked me out of his ship. And when I saw Pete's picture when we landed here by mistake..." Rose squeezed her eyes shut. "I just  _needed_  to see him."

Alec nodded, listening to her story, cataloguing every detail. Rose went on to tell of adventures to other worlds, of cat-faced humans, and the end of the Earth. She described the beauty of the universe, the dangers, terrors and nightmares she had seen. And then she told about the day that the Cybermen appeared in her own universe.

"…and I held on as long as I could…" Tears flowed freely down her face. "But the pull, it was too much, and I…I couldn't hold on." Rose closed her eyes and dropped her head forward, weeping. "Pete… this Pete… he caught me, he saved me, but… I ended up stuck here."

"You told me he was dead, Rose." He tried to keep his voice calm. Rose believed the love of her life was still alive, yet she had told Alec she was committed to him?

"I… I didn't say he was dead, Alec," she said quietly. "I said that I saw him… fade away."

"Rose, that implies you watched him die," Alec said in a firm, though quiet voice.

"Yes." Rose sniffed. "I let you believe that. What else could I have said?" she said through tears. "It was our first date!" Rose's voice raised. "And I really, really liked you already, and I didn't want you to think that was only because you look like him! I wanted you to know why I'd left London, and yes, I lied in places, but I told you all that I could without making you think I was a loon!" she shouted.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Rose cut him off, and sprang off of the sofa.

"I _did_ see him fade away, right before my eyes." Tears were again flowing freely. "He was able to talk to me one last time, but it was just a projection of himself. He did it to say goodbye." Rose's voice broke. "My parents were with me, Alec. They'll back me up on this." She batted the tears away. "You told me you were skeptical. I get that. I do. But it still hurts to know that you don't believe me. You're nodding and listening, but I can tell you don't believe me!" 

Alec reached for her hand, and gently tugged her back onto the sofa.

"Rose, I'm… I am having a very hard time believing you, yes. But I'm willing to listen."

"You told me you wouldn't patronize me! I've had enough of that for two lifetimes from my family and friends."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked angrily, finally losing his tenuous emotional control. "Just swallow what you say whole? Rose! What you are telling me, it's… crazy! It's… impossible. That's what it is. It. Is. Impossible."

"It isn't. It's true," shouted Rose. She pulled her hand free, and crossed her arms, looking away from him.

Alec dragged his hand down his face, and stood to be nearer to her. "I think _you_ believe this Rose. But I think that perhaps you have suffered a very severe brain injury. Maybe even worse than you were led to believe."

"I _told you_ I can get you proof," she said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"I said, I can get you proof."

"Alright. Get me proof then."

"Fine. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll make arrangements for a tour of Torchwood." She set her jaw.

"You can't be angry that I want some sort of… of… evidence. Bloody hell, Rose. Parallel worlds? Time travel? Aliens that look human?"

Rose closed her eyes and sighed at the irony. "The Doctor would have said just the opposite. That we humans look Time Lord." She paused. "Alec, do you  _want_ to believe me?"

"I…" He halted. "I want to know the truth, and I want  _you_ to believe the truth."

"Yeah…" Rose closed her eyes. "I'm really tired," she said quietly. "Do you have extra bed linens? I'll sleep out here on the sofa."

"Rose, no. Please. Don't do this. Don't shut me out. This is not going to come between us. Do you understand that?" Alec asked.

She looked down at her shoes, avoiding his eyes. "How can you be with me if you think–?"

Alec ached for Rose to understand she could trust him. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Rose, I believe… I believe that you believe. Can we leave it at that for now? But please. _Please."_ He drew out the word. "Please don't leave me."

She lifted her head, but still averted her eyes.

"Look at me, Rose. I want to make something clear. What I am about to say is not about sex. I want you in my bed tonight. I don't want you on the sofa. I missed you, and I want you near me tonight. We will sort this. Together. Please don't shut me out. Please trust me."

Rose nodded. Alec switched off the lights, poked the dying embers in the fireplace, and together they retreated into the bedroom. They prepared for sleep, donning pyjamas to fight the cold, and climbed into bed. Without thought, they faced each other, laying on their sides.

"Good night, Rose." Alec kissed her gently on the lips, and stroked her hair. He let his arm rest in the well of her waist.

"Good night, Alec," she said, sober and quiet. Rose closed her eyes, and fell asleep within minutes.

Alec watched her until he knew she was asleep, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. He moved closer to her, but then turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The rain sputtered against the plate glass of the windows, the storm gaining strength. He needed to talk to someone that she trusted, someone who knew her. Pete Tyler had been the one to help Rose with her escape from reality. Alec appreciated the man's devotion to his family, but that same devotion would make him the wrong person to ask about this.

Jake Simmonds… What about him? He was fiercely loyal to Rose, but obviously not afraid to confront her. He had felt the tension between the Rose and Jake when the man had arrived in Broadchurch to fetch Rose, to bring her home to see Pete in hospital. But she had gone with him, and obviously trusted him. That's who Alec needed to talk to. Jake.

Alec started planning his interrogation.


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake brings his Torchwood team to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No betas. All mistakes are mine.

"Simmonds," Jake answered. The digital clock flashed 02:24.

"Sorry to bother you in the middle of the night, mate, but we just found a fissure between us and Delta Apple."

Jake groaned. Slowly, he rolled out of bed and the mattress dipped slightly as he plopped back down to sit. Stifling a yawn, Jake fumbled to shove the ear pod paired with his mobile into his ear.

"Where?" Jake asked the tech on the other end of the line.

"About a mile out to sea, off the Dorset coastline."

Jake stood, and strode into the lounge where he could speak more loudly. "Dorset? _Where_  exactly in Dorset?" His speech was now rapid and terse.

"About five clicks west of a little village called Broadchurch."

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be there?" Jake's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Just keeps getting better."

The tech on the other end of the line paused. "Uh, and given the activity feedback levels, it looks like it's been sitting there for a while undetected."

Jake ran a hand over his short-cropped hair as he looked out the window of his flat.

"And, uh, Sir," said the tech, switching from his previously familiar mate to the more formal official title, "I emailed you the link to the new incident file. I also forwarded the link to Director Tyler-"

"You've already notified the Director?"

"Uh, did I do something wrong?" the tech asked.

Jake muttered a colorful curse, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. You followed protocol." After the tech shared a few more details, Jake ended the call, and then pressed a speed dial button.

"Pete–"

"I just saw my inbox," Pete interrupted. "A microrift has been found near Broadchurch. Get to HQ _now_ ," the commander directed.

"In process of sending a message burst to Bravo Team." Jake tapped on his tablet computer, and then selected send.

"Good. The sooner we arrive on scene, the better."

"We?" Jake asked.

"Simmonds, Rose lives in Broadchurch. I'm not going to sit on my arse while a potential threat unfolds right outside her back door," Pete barked.

Jake paused for a moment. It had been less than a month since he had heard his boss gasp, and then clutch his arm. He could still see Pete's ashen face looking up at him from the gurney. He could hear Pete whispering his fears that he'd be leaving his wife a widow for the second time; his stepdaughter and son fatherless. Jake could hear the swish of the electric doors as the gurney carrying the Director was rushed into the cardiac care unit. The acrid smell of antiseptic and sickness lingered in his mind.

"Director Tyler, I, Deputy Jake Simonds, am formally protesting your request for early return to field duty." He stiffened his back.

"Bloody hell, Simmonds. Stop snapping to attention. I know you said that for the recording–"

"Sir, I am formally protesting your return to field duty," repeated Jake, carefully choosing his words straight out of the operations manual.

Pete was silent for a moment. "All right then. And I officially reject your protest, and I override you." He quoted the manual right back at Jake.

"There is no officially justifiable reason for you to break medical leave," Jake stated. "Not one criteria has been met. No civil, national, or international emergency. I, as acting director, have not been incapacitated. I have not become a security risk. The chain of command has not been compromised. Sir, you–"

"In fact, Deputy," interrupted Pete, "not only am I returning to active duty, I am taking point, even if that means sitting in a hotel room directing traffic. But I  _am_ coming."

"No, you are not. Don't make me bring Medical Section into this, Director. I will. You know I will. And don't think I don't know about your checkup." Jake heard Pete's rapid breathing. "Dr. Singh's last memo indicated that you have been doing too much, too soon. I know he's extended your medical leave by three weeks."

"Rose is there," Pete said after a pause.

Jake clenched his jaw and drew in a breath, wondering if he dared to voice the anger and frustration he'd been holding in for nearly a year. Pete Tyler had actually agreed to, and orchestrated, Rose's plan to recreate herself as Gwen Lewis. He couldn't keep it inside any longer. "You have a blind spot when it comes to your daughter, Director."

"Simmonds, you are treading on thin ice," Pete replied.

"Facts are facts, Sir. You were acting against reason when you facilitated Rose's disappearing act." Jake heard the sound of Pete's angry breathing coming through his earbud. He needed to bring his argument back to policy. "And now you are ignoring your physician. I won't let you do that."

"What I think is best for my family is none of your concern, nor does it fall under your authority, Simmonds." Pete's words were tight. "However." Pete cleared his throat. "What my physician says," he paused, "is." He released a ragged, angry breath. "I can't argue with Dr. Singh."

"Very good, Sir. I'm glad you're seeing things clearly now. I would've hated to bring Dr. Singh into this."

"But you  _will_  give me hourly updates. I will not be kept out of the loop. Is that understood, Deputy?"

"Yes, Sir," Jake replied.

"And how about we both forget that you were insubordinate." Pete said. "I'll chalk it up to a lapse in judgment on your part."

"Yeah," replied Jake. _But you've been idiotic,_ he thought to himself. _Rose would've been over all of this months ago if you'd made her move on._

Both men cleared their throats during an extended silence. 

"Let's get on with the mission plan," Jake said. "From what I can see from a quick look at the data, I'm sure this will be strictly routine. In and out. We'll visit Rose's café. Get a cuppa. And then take some on-site readings, snap some pics. I bet we're home in time for tea. It's probably another one of those post-Cannon retroclosure fissures. Harmless."

"You're probably right, Simmonds. Simple and easy. In and out."

"Bollocks," muttered Jake. "You know my rule. Don't say the S Word."

"What? Simple?" teased Pete.

"Every time someone says it's gonna be simple, it's the opposite," Jake said.

"You still keep that bullet in your pocket, don't you?" Pete asked.

"That bullet shoulda killed me, Boss. I don't dare throw that thing away. Bad juju."

Pete laughed. "Nothing has been bloody jinxed, Simmonds. The crazy stuff I've seen in the past five years has cured me of any superstition, which I never had in the first place."

oOo

It was just after four o'clock in the morning. The single outdoor lightbulb on the outbuilding that housed Alec's restored MG cast shadows across the back garden. Through a gap made by two misaligned slats in the blinds, Rose could see a sliver of the outside world. A small tree that had lost most of its golden leaves to the autumn storms was listing to one side in the brisk wind.

Although she had fallen asleep quickly, Rose had woken far too early, and hadn't been able to return to asleep. Her frustrations were mitigated by the fact that Alec's arm was draped over her waist, pulling her close. His body was aligned behind hers. Even though Alec's disbelief still stung, he'd made it clear that he wanted her, loved her. Rose decided to dwell on that instead of his doubt.

He was a skeptic by profession, after all. Wasn't that what a made him a good detective? His ability to sift through the details? Sort truth and lies into separate stacks? He needed evidence, that's all. She resolved to call her dad first thing tomorrow – no, wait, this morning. She mentally groaned. She needed to make arrangements for Alec to get the top-level, VIP tour. Then he'd understand. She drifted back to sleep.

oOo

The quiet beeping of her wristwatch alarm startled Rose from a state of drowsy rest. She'd set her watch alarm and placed it under her pillow, not wanting to wake up Alec at four forty-five. Rose slipped from the bed, leaving the fluffy goose down duvet in place. She tiptoed over the creaking, cold hardwood floor. Alec hadn't been exaggerating when he had told her his bedroom was draughty. She hadn't noticed it the last time she had slept in his bed. They had been far too preoccupied with each other.

She flipped on the bathroom light after she quietly closed the door.

"S'too early to get up," Alec muttered in his sleep.

Rose peeked through a crack in the door. He looked like a little boy as he hugged her pillow. His cheeks were flushed, lips relaxed, and hair askew. She smiled to herself and shut the door.

Once her morning routine was complete, she grabbed her handbag, and then stopped by the front door. Pulling a small notepad of her voluminous yellow leather purse, she tore off a sheet and wrote a note to Alec. On tiptoe, she crept back into the bedroom, and put it in her empty spot on the sheets.

oOo

Rose pressed the alphanumeric code into the new keypad. The light flashed red. Again. This had been her fourth attempt, and she had only had one more chance. If she entered the code incorrectly again, the system would alert Broadchurch Police that someone was attempting to enter Zoka, unauthorized. She'd tried to memorise the code that Pete had texted her an hour before. He'd demanded that the entire system be replaced after Rowe had broken in the shop, but then everything had gone to hell. She'd returned to London, vowing to never return to Broachchurch, so the plans were shelved. 

But then Rose _had_ returned to Broadchurch. Protective Dad Pete had personally paid a Torchwood expert _without Rose's knowledge_ \-- just the night before -- to completely overhaul the system.

She threw her head back and groaned. She gave up trying to rely on her memory. She dug through her handbag and pulled out her mobile. After a few taps, she found the text from Pete. "This code is ridiculous," she grumbled to herself as she punched in the twenty characters. The light flashed green, and she was in.

The lights came on automatically, directed by the security system morning protocol. Rose stepped inside and looked around her shop. She smiled, pleased with the friendly feel of the tiny space. It was tidy and ready for business thanks to her hard work the day before.

Rose began her morning chores – turning on the espresso machine, retrieving the morning newspapers that had been delivered, and then sorting them so they would be ready for distribution to the delivery boys. Even though she'd not performed this routine for a few weeks, it felt natural. Safe. Comforting. She'd learned how to be happy again, living this new, settled life in Broadchurch.

She was determined not to let the crushing disappointment of the night before ruin her day. Rose shook her head and chuckled as she recalled her own shock at the existence of multiple worlds – and she was a universal time traveler! _Of course he didn't believe me. What normal person would ever believe in alternate universes and doubles,_ she thought to herself.

One by one, the newspaper delivery boys arrived and she handed out their bundles. She gave them each a muffin trying to assuage her own nerves. She was going to have to tell these boys her real name, too. No. Their _parents_. And the moms and dads would tell their friends. And so on and so on and so on.  _Should I just write a letter to the parents?_ she wondered. Living a lie had been complicated. Now she realized now that living the truth  _after_  the lie was turning out to be even worse.

Chloe arrived punctually, right at six-thirty.

"Chloe," Rose said, as soon as the young woman had put away her handbag and jacket. "I'm really glad you decided to, you know, stay." She picked at her short fingernails.

"Yeah, well, uh, thanks for letting me stay," Chloe replied quietly. She spied several bundles of shrink-wrapped magazines. “I’m gonna take care of those," she said, not quite looking Rose in the eyes.

"Thanks," Rose replied, smiling briefly. _She doesn't trust me._

The loud rumble of an idling vehicle broke her from her thoughts. Parked in front of her shop was a black SUV. She frowned. _What's Torchwood doing here?_ The truck was standard-issue. With practiced synchronisation, the doors opened and out spilled four men. Their civilian clothing did little to disguise their military-like bearing and sculpted physiques.

Rose had spent five years with Jake Simmonds, facing danger side-by-side. She immediately recognized his gait and stocky silhouette as he rounded the vehicle under the dim spotlight of the streetlamp. The wet rag sloshed against the marble counter as it slid from her grasp. 

"I need to go outside for a mo'," she said to Chloe as she hastily left her shop.

Chloe barely looked up from her task, quickly returning her attention to the magazine rack.

"Jake! Is everything all right?" asked Rose, meeting him just outside of the doorway.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Jake replied.

"Why are you here?" Rose looked up and down the street. Her senses were on high alert, spine tingling, legs ready to sprint towards danger.

"Blimey! Calm down, Tyler," said Jake, holding up his hands. "You look like you're gonna pounce, Agent." He smirked.

Rose smiled.

"Everything's fine. And hello to you, too," he said with a half smile.

"Sorry. Hi Jake." She hugged the blonde man.

"Drinks are on me guys, so order up." Jake held the door open for Rose and his team, and the group made their way inside.

Chloe approached. "So uh..." She cleared her throat. "Are these friends of yours, Gwen?" Chloe blanched. "I mean, Rose?" She looked over her boss's shoulder at the diverse group of men, not meeting Rose's eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Chloe Latimer, this is Jake Simmonds, friend of mine from my old job. Jake, this is Chloe. I've told you about her, yeah? She helps me out here at the shop."

"Nice to meet you, Chloe." Jake grinned at the young woman.

"Chloe, why don't you start taking drink orders from the guys?" suggested Rose kindly. "There's a pad of paper next to the register."

Chloe retreated like an obedient child. Rose closed her eyes and drew in a breath, letting it go slowly. "She's upset with me. I told her my real name yesterday," Rose told Jake discreetly.

"Did you now?" He raised his eyebrows. "Finally coming clean with everyone, then?" Jake asked.

"Do you have to put it that way?" Rose snapped. She shook her head. "Sorry." She forced a smile. "So. Cuppa?"

"Thought you'd never ask." He grinned brightly. "Four shots, two inches of steamed, skimmed milk, two raw sugars. And I want the sugar dissolved in the hot shots. And double cup it. And gimme a sleeve."

"You're not half picky," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Not picky. Specific. That way, I get exactly what I want." He clasped his hands behind his back and grinned cheekily.

Rose made her way behind the counter to begin preparing the mens' drinks: one latté, a dry cappuccino with freshly grated nutmeg, and a pot of black tea. Chloe pulled pastries from the display case and artfully arranged them on plates complete with paper doilies as she had been trained by her boss. She served the men, and then retreated behind the news counter with a biscuit, waiting for Rose to finish Rose preparing the drinks. 

Metal scraped tile loudly as the men dragged the two café tables together, and relaxed into the small metal chairs, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as they ate their pastries. Trying to be casual, Chloe sat on the stool by the register and watched the men as she paged through brand new issue of Cosmopolitan.

"Your name is Chloe, yeah?" called one of the men, flashing her a devastatingly bright smile.

Chloe looked up from her magazine.

The handsome, brown-eyed man raised his arm to beckon her. "Join us, why don't you?" His tight-fitting, weather-proof, black jacket revealed a hint of black gunmetal and brown leather lashing. 

Chloe looked over at Rose, eyes wide. "He has a gun," Chloe mouthed, subtly gesturing as if shooting. 

Rose flushed, realising what Chloe had seen. "Go on and sit with them, Chloe. They probably have a story or two they can tell you. Don't ya?" Rose prompted with a tight smile.

Chloe paused before slowly slipping off of the stool. She looked back at the table for a moment.

"I promise, they won't bite," added Jake.

"Who says we don't bite?" answered the brown-eyed man, who again winked at Chloe.

Jake rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms. "Behave, Dez.”

The flirtatious man held up his hands to demonstrate his innocence.

"I think my boyfriend would probably mind if you did. Bite, I mean," Chloe joked as she slowly rounded the counter, and pulled up a chair.

"You mean... you mean you're not available?" The man with the gorgeous grin clutched his heart, and feigned grief before giving her another superstar smile.

"Sorry. Taken," Chloe replied. "But…" She cleared her throat, trying to calm herself. "But that doesn't mean I can't have a good flirt now and then." She took a bite of her biscuit.

The men chatted over the din of the espresso rumbling machine, hissing and whistling in the background. Once the piping hot drinks were served, there was a lull in the conversation save a few mmmms and an oh, this is good. Chloe politely answered their questions, but did not fully engage herself in the conversation.

Rose handed Jake his high octane beverage. "Since you're gonna just stand there like a lump I guess I'll go on and introduce myself to the guys." Rose rolled her eyes at her former colleague.

"Sorry," Jake apologised.

"Hello, I'm Rose, but you probably already knew that. Not like I'm really a low profile former employee."

The three men stood."I'm Isaac Hernández. Everyone calls me Dez. And it is an honor to meet the legendary Rose Tyler." He lifted his cup in salute.

"Legendary? Is that what they're calling it now?" she replied quietly, her smile now gone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't… You have to know I wasn't referring to the accident," he said, apologetically. "I simply meant that you…"

“Hernández, shut it," said Jake, protectively.

Chloe frowned slightly, and looked over her shoulder at Rose.

A man with flaming ginger hair stood up. "I'm Geoffrey Matthews. Broadchurch is a bit of a change from London, I would imagine?" he noted, stiffly.

"Yeah. A bit. I like it here, though." Rose replied.

Matthews put clasped his hands behind his back, and nodded once.

The final man stood from his seat and sharply nodded once. "And I am Samuel Magambo, Ms. Tyler."

Rose startled, remembering her UNIT contact in one of the alternate universes she had visited. She cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you Mr. Magambo.”

“No, no, no,” he said, smiling brightly. “Samuel. Please.”

“And call me Rose."

"Rose it is, then," Samuel agreed.

"Well. Nice to meet all of you. And I hope you liked the coffee and tea." Rose looked at Chloe. "Give them seconds on pastries if they'd like, on the house."

"'Kay," Chloe said, sneaking another glance at the red-haired man wearing the holstered gun.

Rose turned so that her back was to the table of Torchwood operatives, and then prompted Jake to followed her to the pair of leather chairs. 

"Tell me about your new team," Rose said. "Good blokes?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, they're tight. They’re all recruits - transfers. Experienced. I wasn’t really impressed by any of the recent training graduates, so Pete and I decided to build a team from outside.”

Jake nodded towards the table. “Magambo, he’s my second in command. Top notch. Stole him from UNIT. Lt. Colonel, and married to a fellow UNIT officer."

Rose fiddled with her earring. "Captain Erisa Magambo?"

"That's _Colonel_ Erisa Magambo here. You met her in that crazy alternate universe. The one with Donna, and the almost dead TARDIS, right?“

"Yeah. The one where the Doctor drowned." Rose briefly looked down at her lap. "So. What about the other two? The one that keeps flirting with Chloe is a bit of all right. Bet he's popular at work."

"Oh, yeah," Jake drawled. "And that's has worked in our favour a time or two. He can charm the pants off of anyone. Smooth, that one. And a crack shot with great instincts. Transferred him from Cardiff. But he’s American. Was an Air Force F-16 pilot.”

“Ha!” Rose barked. “Your very own Jack Harkness." Rose snickered. 

“Dez’s not _quite_ as free with his affections as that Harkness bloke of yours, from all of those stories."

"I don't think _anyone_ is like Jack." Rose laughed brightly. "And that ginger-headed one? He looks… serious.”

"You summed him up, Tyler. Brand new. Brought him in from SAS — Boat Troop. Was a staff sergeant. Keeps to himself. Rigid. Not very friendly. But as long as he does the job, I couldn't care less if he had two heads. He's a bloody good operative. One hundred percent reliable."

"Sounds like you've got a great team. I'm glad."

"Now none of 'em are as good as you or Micks, may he rest in peace." Jake took a swig of his espresso.

Rose's stomach churned at the casual, easy way that Jake referred to Mickey. "So, why are you here?" Rose took a sip of her macchiato, not wanting to dwell on the loss of her best, oldest friend.

"Classified."

Rose half smiled, her lips halted at the rim of her mug. "You're kidding, right?" Rose asked.

"No." He flashed a momentary, chilly grin, which quickly disappeared. "Not kidding."

"I don't understand," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Standard operating procedure. You're a civilian now, Rose. You chose your new life, and I'm glad that you're happy in this twee little village."

Rose smirked.

"But as with any op, it is need to know, and you don't need to know."

Rose tipped her head to the side, mouth open, speechless for a moment. "Dad would tell me without question," she finally managed to say.

"I'm acting Director, Pete isn't, so it's my call." Jake swirled his paper cup, and then knocked back the last of his coffee. "You draw a nice shot of espresso, Tyler."

Rose ignored his compliment. "Tell me why, Jake," she repeated, eyes closed, and jaw firm. "I know bloody well that you are choosing not to tell me. This has nothing to do with SOP. I get it. You're still in a snit about Gwen. Get over it, Jake. I'm making things right."

Jake clenched his jaw several times and looked away from Rose. "Are you really going to make me spell it out Rose?" he whispered harshly

Rose closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not following."

"Don't make me say it." He crushed the paper cups in his fist, and tossed the rubbish into a nearby bin.

Rose's eyes darted around the room. The three Torchwood operatives were still laughing, paying no attention to Rose's conversation with their commander. She looked out the window, focusing her gaze across the street, beyond the sand, and out to sea. While the sea reflected the calming pinkish grey of dawn, it was rolling and churning, an angry mass of power. Rose breathed in and out a few times, suppressing the anger that was growing. Her face was calm. Her hands did not shake. She was the picture of control.

"You are emotionally..." Jake began.

"Yeah, go on." Rose set her cup of coffee down with a thud. Both her arms and legs were now crossed and she was shaking her foot rapidly.

Jake leaned forward. "Rose, you're unreliable at the moment. Unpredictable. Overly-emotional. I don't know that I can trust you to keep secrets from certain people."

"And by certain people," she said, tilting her head to the side, "you mean Alec, I suppose."

"You may trust, Hardy, but I don't," Jake hissed. 

"Why the bloody hell don't you trust him? I trust him! The _real_ Director trusts him," Rose shot back. "Dad showed Alec the security camera footage from the night of the Cybermen. Did the Director tell you that? He showed Alec Sunday night. When Alec came down to London and apologized to me." Rose leaned forward. "Alec saw me and the Doctor together. Up close. He saw Pete's first Jackie. He saw the Cybers," she said -- and not quietly.

Jake pursed his lips and nodded, not so much as an acknowledgement, but to emphasize his anger. "You'd already told Hardy about James, or whatever you decided you we going to name the Doctor while you lied about him,” he replied. “And everybody knows about the Cybers. Not exactly a secret. Pete was simply helping you out. He used that video to lend credibility to your claims. So you didn’t seem so… out there.”

"Credibility? _Out there_?!” Rose shot back, her voice high. She could feel her cheeks burning. "Alec didn't need to see that video, Simmonds. Dad showed Alec the video because he wanted Alec to have just a little bit of understanding why I had been so confused!" Her words were spilling from her mouth now. "Why I had been afraid to tell him." She paused, chest heaving. "He showed Alec so Alec would have at least a small idea of why I had to leave London behind. It had absolutely nothing to do with offering Alec proof. Alec didn't need proof. Alec already believed me," she emphasised defensively. "He believed that I was with Torchwood!"

Jake glowered as he saw Chloe watching their growing argument. He scrubbed his face, then leaned forward. "Keep your voice down, Rose. You have an audience. This is about a real life official field operation. Not some _lark_  that you and the Doctor – the man who you would have given your life for, let me remind you –"

The anger that had been like churning ocean waves now became massive swells. "Don't you dare bring the Doctor into this!" Rose's hazel eyes flashed with angry, unshed tears.

"Alec Hardy is not the Doctor, and he has absolutely no authorisation to know anything about current Torchwood operations! None."

She uncrossed her arms, and gripped the cushioned arms of the leather chair. She could feel her fingernails digging into the fine leather. "Alec is no replacement," she uttered fiercely and decisively.

"Still doesn't prove you won't tell him," he accused before looking away with a sneer.

"Ta, Jake," she said. She fought against her body's physical responses, refusing to let her lower lip quiver. She batted away a stinging tear from her cheek. She would not give any credence to Jake's accusation that she was emotionally unstable. But she was far beyond angry and hurt. "That sure shows me how little you think of me. I may not be officially on Torchwood's payroll anymore, but do you really think I would just forget every rule and regulation that I lived and breathed for five years? Torchwood was my life, Jake!" The slap of her hand on the leather armrest again captured the attention of Chloe and the three operatives. "I would never betray anyone from Torchwood. Never. Why do you think I was so devastated after the explosion? Because I thought that is exactly what I had done. Betrayed them."

"You didn't–" Jake interrupted.

"I would never, ever do anything to betray you!" she interrupted loudly. "Never! And Alec knows what I used to do for a job was classified!" she finished, her voice vibrating with anger and indignation.

The atmosphere in the shop prickled as the loud words hung in the air. Chloe's eyes went wide. The three men looked down at the table. Only the muffled shuffling of feet accompanied the quiet music in the background.

"Nothing to see here, move along, move along," Jake said to his underlings with a slight snarl. "Tyler, I told you to keep your voice down," Jake said under his breath through tight lips.

"This is my shop. And I’m not on Torchwood payroll anymore. _Remember?_ ” she spat back, voice low. "Alec knows there are things that I can never tell him, not unless some huge thing changed. He’s gotta keep secrets from me, too, you know!" Rose breathed in and out, in and out, over and over, effectively suppressing further tears.

The conversation at the other table resumed.

Rose leaned closer to Jake, and looked him in the eyes. "I told Alec about the other universe last night. Explained the doubles."

"You what?" asked Jake, shocked.

"Yeah," she said proudly. "He didn't believe me."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Jake said smugly.

"Of course he didn't," she replied with a cold smile. "The more I thought about it, the more I figured why should he believe a word of it without one single piece of evidence? The whole thing, it's mad. Completely mad. And yeah, it hurts to know that he doesn't believe me without some sort of evidence. But you know what? He didn't reject me either." Rose leaned back in her chair and picked up her coffee. She took a sip and closed her eyes. "He wants to be with me anyway. He made it very clear," she said.

Jake shook his head and guffawed. "Hardy should believe you  _without_  proof," Jake said haughtily. "I did. Pete did. It isn't that giant of a mental leap."

"That's a damn lie, and you know it," she accused. "When we arrived the first time? Me and the Doctor and Mickey? You thought Mickey was Rickey. And then you didn't know what to believe. You were right there. Right. There! He wasn't! He has no reason to believe me! None!"

"Hardy doesn't deserve you, Rose.” Jake pressed his lips together. “And he couldn't even protect you. Not when it really counted. He couldn't even do his fucking job. You could have been killed by that bastard Rowe!" shouted Jake. He could feel his pulse pumping in his ears. His face burned. "And then he — rejects you?!”

Jake shot up out his chair, fists clenched. He paced for a moment. 

Rose startled at the thud of Jake’s fist slamming into her goldenrod-coloured wall. She stared at the indentation, and then stood up quietly. 

Refusing to look at him, she took her now cold, hardly touched cup of coffee behind the counter. The pottery clinked as the cup rattled on the saucer, her hands shaking angrily. The white stoneware landed in the stainless steel sink with a loud thunk, and the coffee splashed back, dowsing her apron. 

She cursed, grabbed a cleanup cloth, and blotted the mocha coloured blotch from her golden apron. She grabbed a spray bottle and violently pulled the trigger. The normally refreshing scent of the herbal lemon counter spray made her cough a few times as she squirted too much cleaner. She scrubbed the marble counter with righteous vigour.

Jake dropped back down into the leather chair and sulked for a minute before pulling out his mobile to check his messages.

Rose’s head snapped up as the bell on the door jingled. She shut her eyes and took a calming breath. It was Alec. The clock above the news stand cash register confirmed he was exactly on time. Rose set her cleaning supplies aside, smoothed down her goldenrod apron, breathed in and out a few times to quell her anger, and then began warming a stoneware teapot for Alec's morning Earl Grey.

oOo

Alec sauntered around the café tables to the espresso bar, one hand in the pocket of his blue trousers. He raised his eyebrows as he studied the scene. Chloe was sitting with three men. Strangers. All appeared to be over the age of twenty-five. All all were extremely muscled. Jake was here. That meant Torchwood.

And Jake wasn't talking to Rose. 

And Rose was ignoring Jake.

In fact, no one was talking. 

Simmonds' face was scarlet. He was drumming a single finger on the brown leather and staring in the general direction of the magazines on the other side of the shop.

Alec frowned and leaned on the counter. Rose's rigid back was turned to him. "Busy this morning," he said to her quietly, before looking over at Simmonds again, who was now glaring at him from the leather side chair.

She turned and looked over her shoulder at Jake. Her wet eyes flashed at the blonde man before turning to look at Alec. She returned to her work. "I got a bit of a surprise visit this morning," Rose said quietly, trying to smile through her words.

"Simmonds," said Alec, offering him a cool greeting.

Jake nodded his acknowledgement.

"You here as part of the moving crew? Rose did say her personal belongings were arriving soon," Alec said.

The muscles in Jake's jaw tightened visibly. “Business, Hardy. We're not bloody movers."

Alec straightened himself tall, and tipped his nose upward, not expecting such an angry reply to his teasing. "Anything that Broadchurch PD might need to be informed of?" Alec asked. "I do have a general idea of what you do for a living. It might be a good idea for local law enforcement to be kept in the loop."

"Sorry, DI. Bit above your security clearance." Jake stood. He flexed his muscles and stalked towards Alec, like a big cat sizing up a challenger.

Rose closed her eyes, and then cleared her throat. "Alec, your tea is ready." Again, she cleared her throat. Alec could see she was suppressing tears, but her hands were no longer shaking. She handed Alec the paper cup of tea, caught Alec's eyes for a moment, and offered him a faint smile.

He returned the smile, but saw no happiness in her eyes. Rose hadn't asked him if he wanted a pastry. She hadn't teased him about his ever-the-same tea order. She hadn't flirted. She hadn't even told him how much his order cost, which always led to whinging about complicated, overpriced tea. Alec furrowed his brow, but only briefly. Knowing exactly how much money to surrender from his wallet for his beloved complicated tea. He gently placed the coins into Rose's open hand.

She nodded her thanks and placed the money in the register. "I'll see you later," Rose whispered.

He tipped his head and looked at her with concern. "You know, Rose, I have decided I am going to sit for a while. I'm not ready to have you out of my sight," he said earnestly. Alec leaned across the counter and placed his mouth next to her ear. "I'm sorry about last night. Can you forgive me?"

"I'm not angry with you, and this isn't about last night. This is between me and Jake. And there's nothing to forgive." She whispered back, and then kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for the pillow note," he whispered. "And thank you for understanding." With no self-consciousness at Jake's presence, Alec kissed Rose sweetly on the lips.

Rose stood a bit straighter, cupped the back of his head, and pulled him to her. She kissed him long and hard. "Good. I'm not ready to let you go, either. I didn't wake you when I left this morning, did I?" she said loudly.

Jake cleared his throat. "I get the picture, Rose. You and Alec are together."

"Yes, we are," Rose replied icily.

Alec went behind the counter, and took her hand, pulling her into a hug. "Rose, I can see you and Simmonds are having a pretty serious disagreement. I don't want to be in the cause of it."

“Keep out of it, Hardy,” snapped Jake.

Rose pulled herself free from Alec's embrace and stood tall. "Jake, I want you and your team to leave," she said with a controlled voice as Alec's hand squeezed hers firmly. “Samuel, Dez, Geoffrey, you're welcome to come back any time."

Jake nodded. "Wrap it up," he said loudly, making a twirling motion with his pointer finger. "We're heading out."

Awkwardly, the men stood and busied themselves gathering the dishes and remnants of their breakfast. 

"No, no, that's my job," Chloe said, taking the cup and saucer right out of Samuel’s hand.

Chloe stood statue-like as the four men vacated. She turned and looked at Rose, who was now wrapped in Alec's arms. Her shoulders were quivering. 

"They didn't pay,” Chloe stuttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to "fan cast" Jake's team members as I had done before, so I renamed them. But that plan sorta backfired on me, because when I wrote Isaac Hernández, all I could see was Poe Dameron. I haven't based Geoffrey Matthews or Samuel Magambo on anyone specific.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe can't keep her mouth shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta. All mistakes are mine.

"How was work?" Beth asked Chloe, whose eyes remained glued to her computer screen.

"Drama, that's what." Chloe pulled a face then reached for her mother's bottle of sparkling water. She took a small drink, and then nabbed a stack of crisps from an open tube of Pringles.

"How so?" Beth tapped on her computer keyboard, only half listening to her daughter.

Chloe finished eating the crisps. "So right after we opened this morning, these four blokes drove up in this enormous black SUV. You know the kind, yeah? The ones with the windows you can't see through. So all of these guys are really fit. All muscle. Rose knew one of 'em from her old job, and she introduced me to him. Said his name was Jake. She didn't know the other guys though. I think they were new." She dumped another handful of crisps into her hand. "It's illegal for just any random person to have a gun, right?" asked Chloe through the mouthful of salt and vinegar-flavoured potatoes.

Abruptly, Beth stopped typing. Her head snapped towards her daughter and her eyes were wide. Beth looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. "Did you see someone with a gun? You need to report that right away. You've seen those government announcements on the telly warning about illegal guns. It's a serious crime!" whispered Beth.

Chloe frowned for a moment, and then leaned closer. "I'm pretty sure one of the blokes who came in was wearing one of those gun holder things," she said under her breath, "but it was the kind that goes up over your shoulder. I saw it under his jacket."

"Do you mean a shoulder holster?" Beth asked.

"Yeah. I suppose that's what it's called. But it gets weirder." She leaned forward and spoke low and hushed. "Rose and one of the blokes had this huge row, right there in the shop. Hardarse–" She shook her head and corrected herself. "Sorry. I mean Hardy came in and got all protective and stuff. Then Rose booted the blokes out."

Beth leaned even closer. "An argument about what?"

"Most of it I couldn't hear. But towards the end, she and this Jake guy were full-on shouting. She said something like—“ Chloe looked out the window as she worked to recall the words. “Hardy knew what she did for a job was classified."

"I suppose that explains the gun," Beth added.

"And then Jake told her to hush up, and she told him to shut it 'cos it was her shop, and she didn't work anymore at — I can't remember the name of the company, but obviously he still works there, and he doesn't like Hardy at all because Rose told Jake they were definitely together, and he was all-- glaring and stuff, and then she snogged Hardy, a proper get-a-room snog, right over the espresso counter in front of God and everyone, and Jake got really angry and he punched the wall. Put a dent in it."

Beth gasped. "What? You're kidding me!"

"Not kidding! They kissed after he punched the wall though, but seriously, Rose open-mouth kissed Hardy right over the counter–"

Beth laughed and shook her head. "No! I was talking about the guy who punched Rose's wall!"

"Oh. Yeah, anyway, " Chloe said, waving her hands in a rush to get back to her story. “This Jake bloke nearly put a hole in the wall, right by the leather chairs. I think she's totally pissed about it. After she kicked everyone out and Hardy left, she was really quiet."

Beth paused for a moment, trying to make sense of the information she had learned in the past few days. "So if I'm understanding all of this correctly, Gwen moved to Broadchurch about a year ago to get away from something that happened in London. I'm guessing this Jake fellow has something to do with that."

Chloe nodded, grabbed the tube of Pringles.

"Then all of that horrid robbery stuff happened, but of course, she was just an innocent in that drug money mess. Gimme my crisps back, you little thief."

Chloe handed her mother the nearly empty container.

"And Gwen Lewis was the name she picked when she moved here, but Rose Tyler is her real name. Well, I can surely see the appeal of running away and hiding from someone if that's how they act," said Beth judgmentally. "Punching walls and being jealous about a boyfriend."

"Oh, no, no, no, he's not jealous of Hardy, which would actually make the fight make more sense. I asked Rose a while after they left if Jake was her ex.”

“Chloe, that’s wasn’t right of you.”

“Whatever,” Chloe waved off her mom’s admonition. “She said they’d only ever been friends.”

Ollie ambled from behind the partition in back of Beth's work area, and sat on the edge of her desk. "I couldn't help but overhear you two talking. Did I hear you say that there was a fight at Zoka this morning, and someone punched a hole in the wall?"

"Yeah. Pretty dramatic." Chloe snatched the Pringles tube from the desk, tipped back her head and shook the remaining crumbs into her mouth. She tossed it at the rubbish bin a few feet away. It missed.

"Yesterday, Maggie told me that your boss has a new name," said Ollie. He looked out the window.

"Not a new name. Gwen wasn't her real name," corrected Chloe. "Rose Tyler is her real name. Gwen Lewis is the name she used when she moved from London to Broadchurch. Hardy didn't even know her real name until a couple of weeks ago, and then she took off. I bet it was because they–"

"Chloe, that is enough." Beth stopped her daughter. "You're not gonna leave that Pringles tube on the floor are you?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and then lolled out of her chair to dispose of the litter.

Ollie pushed himself off of Beth's desk and waggled his eyebrows. "I think I need a coffee. Care for anything from Zoka?"

Beth frowned at him. "No, I'm good. Behave, Ollie."

"I am a reporter. Don't know that behaving is in my job description."

He strode out of the newspaper office in the general direction of Zoka.

"Ollie,” called out Beth, but he ignored her.

"You need to mind your mouth, Chloe. Ollie is on his way over to Zoka, and I bet he's going to ask your boss a whole lot of personal questions."

"Sorry, Mum." Chloe looked down, cheeks flushed.

"It's not me you owe the apology to. Now what are you gonna do about this, hmm?” asked Beth, irritated.

Chloe dropped back into the chair, slouched and crossed her arms.

"You need to give her fair warning, Chloe. Ring. Her. Now!"

oOo

Rose pressed her palms into her eye sockets, trying to fight against the steady thump, thump, thump behind her right eyeball. She was sure that the argument with Jake had brought on the rare migraine. It had been about a year and a half since she had suffered one and the last time had been after a heated argument with Mickey. It had been just a few weeks before the cannon misfire. She couldn't remember what the argument had been about, but the aftermath had been enough to sideline her for a whole day. 

Her mobile vibrated, jumping a few centimetres to the left. It was face down and Rose didn't bother to pick it up and check the caller ID.

The bell on the front door jingled, and it was as if the brass bell was beating against her skull, making it sound twice as loud as reality. She opened her eyes to see Ollie from the _Broadchurch Daily Echo_. Inwardly, she groaned at the possibility of a ‘so you heard my name isn't Gwen Lewis, it's Rose Tyler’ grilling. She slid off of the stool behind the news counter, and offered him as welcoming a smile as she could muster.

"Hello, Ollie. What can I get for you?" Rose asked. She was good at masking pain, and she hoped that the reporter wouldn't see a weakness to exploit.

"Chloe just told me about a fellow who punched a hole in your wall. Care to give me an exclusive? Not much news 'round here since Rowe was sorted," Ollie said cheerfully.

Rose sighed and rubbed her temples as she wondered what else had Chloe told the reporter. Her eyelids fluttered a few times as she tried to ignore the increasing pain in her head. "I...uh..."

"I'm joking," he said with a half smile, deciding to take a more subtle route. "I am here in search of caffeine."

"Right." She made her way behind the espresso bar. It didn't get past Rose that he was scanning her shop, and it did not take long for Ollie to spot it: a border of white drywall framed a goldenrod fist-sized depression.

He raised an eyebrow as he inclined his head in the direction of the damage. "What happened?"

"Thought you said you were kidding," she retorted with her own matching eyebrow arch.

"Just curious. I am a reporter after all."

"Right." Had she felt well, there would have been a hint of humour in her voice. "So what can I make for you?"

"Four shots with about an inch of steamed milk, please."

Ollie leaned on the counter sideways, so that he was facing the window. His mobile chirped once, indicating a message from his editor, Maggie Radcliffe.  _Beth says you're at Zoka. Ask Gwen Lewis why she changed her name to Rose Tyler. And get me a big hazelnut latté._  Ollie scowled.

"Maggie just texted me. She wants the biggest hazelnut latté you've got."

Rose nodded. "Sure."

"So, word around town is you've changed your name," Ollie said as casually as he could.

It wasn't that Ollie's comment was unexpected. Rose just didn't want to discuss her life with a reporter, and she was sure that this was quickly turning into an interview. Every movement she made was an effort, like trying to swim through thick molasses. She felt like her hands were playing catch-up with her brain. Her thoughts were disconnected. Muddled. Dull. Her forearm grazed the scorching steaming wand. She hissed through her teeth.

"You all right?" asked Ollie, peering over the bar.

"Wasn't paying attention. Burnt myself." Rose wetted a cloth with cool water and applied it to the angry red line on her forearm.

"Do you have a first aid kit anywhere?" he asked, concerned.

"Back room. It's hanging on the wall, just inside the door on the left."

Ollie covered the short distance quickly with long strides and returned with the kit in hand. Rose was now sitting at one of the café tables, cradling her arm.

"Let me have a look at that," he offered.

"There's some burn ointment in there, I think." Rose nodded at the plastic clamshell box. Rose removed the cloth, and hissed as the raw wound met the air.

"Ouch," said Ollie sympathetically, catching her eyes for just a moment before he returned his attention to her arm.

The thumping in her head increased. "Who told you I changed my name?" she asked quietly.

Ollie looked up from the wound. 

"Maggie told me. I think Chloe may have told her, though."

"It's not like I'm keeping it a secret. I'm just not broadcasting it. It's only been a week since I legally took back my name. Rose Tyler. That's my real name," she said quietly. “I…” Rose paused, needing to pick the correct word. “…used the name Gwen Lewis this past year because I needed a break."

"A break,” Ollie said flatly. "Most people don't change their name because they need a break."

"Yeah, well most people don't need-" Rose looked up at Ollie. "I don't owe you an explanation why I did what I did, Ollie. It’s personal. There's no story here, if that's what you're thinking."

Ollie was quiet as he applied the ointment.

"The only thing that people need to know is that Rose Tyler is who I am, and Gwen Lewis was a name I used for a while. You know, I should have been suspicious. You usually order tea in the afternoon."

"Espresso sounded good," he replied, lamely. "Which plaster do you want? Smiley faces or glow in the dark?"

"I can do it," said Rose, pulling her arm away.

"Let me at least put a plaster on that burn. The angle's awkward."

"Yeah. Fine." The door bell jingled again. Rose turned and looked over her shoulder.

"R–Gw-Gwen…and Ollie. Hi. Um…hi. " Ellie smiled, both eyes and mouth wide as she looked at Rose, and then Ollie, and then back at Rose. Hesitating to move she shifted her weight between her feet a few times before she approached the café table at which they were sitting. "What's happened here, then?"

"Burnt my arm." Wearily, Rose closed her eyes and cradled her head in her free hand.

Ellie turned a chair so it faced the table. She saw Rose shudder as the metal feet clanked against the hard floor. "Sorry about the racket," apologised Ellie. "You have a headache, don't you? I recognise that look."

Rose closed her eyes and pressed her lips into a flat line. She nodded.

"I hope your arm feels better," said Ollie, sheepishly. The paper wrapper from the plaster crinkled quietly as he wadded it between his fingers nervously. He pulled three two-pound coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter on his way out of Zoka, not bothering to ask about his half-made drink.

"Alec asked me to stop by and check on you. He'd be here himself, but he has a mound of paperwork. I told him not to put it off. He said you had an enormous row with your Torchwood friend, Jake."

Rose let her forehead rest on the cool marble of the café table for a bit before sitting back up. "Yeah. It was enormous all right. Did he tell you what Jake did to my wall?" Rose's voice sounded thin, and she held one eye shut.

Ellie nodded.

"And then Ollie comes in digging for a story. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, and I bumped the steaming wand and did this." She held up her arm. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though. Little village, big mouths."

"Hey, don't be rude," Ellie said, feigning offence.

"Plus I have a migraine, and no meds for it. I've only ever had three of them in my whole life." She thought of the white wall on the top floor of Torchwood Tower, the scene of her first.

"Come on. I'm taking you to A&E so they can give you a shot."

"But my shop. It's not closing time yet," Rose replied.

"Sod the shop."

"Easy for you to say, Ellie. You get a regular paycheque. I did the books yesterday, and I'm barely making a go of it. Being closed for three weeks really mucked things up. And I refuse to ask my dad for any more money. And now I'm sure half the town knows I lied about myself. Ollie's probably gonna start writing some bleeding exposé on me 'cos there's nothing else to write about in this poky place."

"Like hell he will," said Ellie. "It's none of his bloody business. "

"Free press."

"There is no story."

"He thinks there is. Obviously." Rose winced at the loudness of her own voice.

"Rose, you are not a story!" Ellie said quietly firm.

"Thing is Ellie, if he starts digging around he's going to find a story." She looked out the window. A break between storm clouds revealed rare sunshine.

"What?" Ellie stared at Rose. "What are you going on about? Because you're an heiress? Who cares! Having money is not newsworthy!"

Rose covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh no. I think I'm going to be sick." She sprinted for the toilet.

Ellie pulled out her mobile. "Chloe, Rose needs you to come back to work and stay here until closing time." She paused. "Because I said so! Gawd. Just do it. You don't need to know why!" She ended the call and waited for Rose's return.

All colour had drained from Rose's face, and what little mascara that was left was in the form of two black shadows around her eyes.

"Chloe will be here in a mo. She's going to work the rest of the afternoon and close up the shop," Ellie said quietly.

"Ellie,” Rose dragged out her name.

"Don't  _Ellie_  me. You are clearly miserable."

"I hate hospitals,” said Rose as she dropped her head back onto the table.

oOo

"How are you feeling now, Ms. Tyler?" asked the nurse softly.

"Headache's gone, and I'm sleepy." Rose shifted onto her side, curling herself into a shivering ball. "So cold.” The curtains diffused a small amount of light from the A&E common area, and the dimness soothed Rose's tired eyes.

"Unfortunately, the shivering is a side effect. This medicine gives you a chill. I'll bring you some warm blankets, though. That should help."

"Thanks." Rose murmured. "When can I go home?"

"We need to keep you under observation for a few more hours since this is the first time you have been given this particular treatment. Have to make sure you don't have an adverse reaction to the medication. Try to sleep, okay?"

The nurse returned in less than a minute with two blankets. Rose relaxed under the heavy warmth as the nurse tucked the bleach-scented blankets up around her neck. Soon, her world melted into a blur of ambient background noise.

oOo

"Tell us what you've got."

"45 year old female and 47 year old male. No visible injuries. Neither of the two can or will talk. Didn't even acknowledge us when we put them in the ambulance. Let us lead them by the hand, though. But it's like there's nothing there. See their eyes? All spark is gone. The 999 caller saw them walking in circles on the beach near…" The man's voice and the rumble of the gurney faded as the patients were wheeled away. Rose opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was nearly five o'clock. Morning or night? Rose wondered to herself before her eyelids fell closed once again.

oOo

"Mary just called from upstairs. You know those two they brought in from the beach? Both of them are in comas. Neither have any visible head injuries. Blood work is clean. No trauma. No sign of poisoning. Nothing. Just found walking in circles on the beach. The person who called emergency services figured that it was odd behaviour after they'd been doing it for two hours."

"Don't you think that's strange? It's exactly like that Steven Connolly fellow. He came out of his coma this afternoon, though. Not a thing wrong with him either. Birdie upstairs said he's an odd duck, anyway. Kept going on and on about glowing lights and crying and wailing..."

Briefly, Rose registered the conversation before her eyelids drooped once again.

oOo

The exam room was dim and quiet when Rose woke up. Feeling stiff, she uncurled herself out of the tight ball, and then stretched out, from fingertips to toes, before she opened her eyes.

"You're awake."

Rose rolled onto her side. Alec was sitting in the guest chair, holding his mobile. He pocketed it and leaned forward. With clasped, hands he propped his elbows on his knees.

"Hello," greeted Rose with a smile. "Is it eight-thirty am or pm? They have an old-fashioned twelve hour clock in here."

Alec looked at the relic on the wall.

"PM." The nurse says you can leave as soon as you are ready. Been waiting impatiently for you to wake up. Thought about playing that video of the auto tuned dog barking  _Happy_  on my mobile."

Rose sat up and swung her legs off of the side of the bed. Again, she stretched and yawned widely. "Feel more rested than I have in days."

"Glad I didn't then." Alec left his chair and pulled her into a hug.

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek against the soft cotton of his white shirt, the warmth of his chest bleeding through. He kissed the top of her head before he pulled away.

"I have a confession."

Rose sucked in a worried breath, her eyes wide. "You didn't get into a fight with Jake did you?"

Alec stepped back and moved his hands to her shoulders. "Bloody hell, woman! That's the first thought you had? I woulda been pummelled! I'd probably be in the next exam room over, being treated for a broken nose!"

Rose tipped her head to the side and fiddled with her earring. "Well," she said, voice high, "you were very protective of me this morning, and,I don't know, I just thought... Oh, never mind."

"I know my own limits," he said wryly. "But Simmonds had better pay up for the damage to your shop," said Alec. "Who does he think he is? Coming in and-"

Rose touched his lips. "I don't want to talk about Jake. I really don't want another headache."

Alec's face fell. "Sorry." He sat down next to her, and then took her hands into his. "Whatever it is the two of you were arguing about, it isn't worth getting sick over."

Rose chewed on her lip, ignoring his assessment. "So what is your confession, Inspector?"

"Thing is, I'm not here because of you, not strictly. I came in for a case, not that there is much to investigate, considering the victims are comatose and there's no evidence of a crime, unless playing Ring Around the Rosie on the beach is against the lawnow.”

Rose furrowed her brows and looked towards the blue and white flowered curtain. She recalled a hazy memory of voices in the hallway. "Alec, was it a man and woman found on the beach?"

"Aye. But how do you know that?"

"I woke up a few times, and I heard people talking about it. They said someone else was found on the beach too, and that person also went in a coma afterwards." She shook her head. "I thought I'd dreamt it."

"I don't see any signs of foul play, and I'm certainly no neurologist. Open and closed case."

"But that's a good thing, right?"

"Yes. It is." Alec smiled down at Rose. "I don't much fancy cooking tonight, and I'm sure you're hungry. I'll get take-away."

"Actually, I'm not very hungry, Alec. Been a long day, and I think I just want to curl up in front of your fireplace with a cup of tea and cheese on toast."

"Then tea and toasty cheese it is."

oOo

Rose shook her foot and drummed her pointer finger on the hardwood tabletop. She stared, unblinking, at Alec's back as Jake's words replayed on a continuous loop. Snippets of their fight while driving to London after her dad's heart attack. The ugliness spewing from his mouth this morning.  _How dare he punch my wall!_  She stopped drumming the table and balled her fists, white knuckles prominent. Her pronounced jawline became even more defined as she clenched her teeth.

_Jake doesn't trust me._ Her chest rose and fell with her increased breathing. Her usually wide, expressive eyes were small and dark under her lowered eyebrows.

"Earl Grey or green?" asked Alec over his shoulder. He caught her angry eyes for a moment.

Abruptly, she averted her eyes to the stream of water pouring from the tap.

"You all right?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah. Just a shitty day," she replied, closing her eyes and sighing heavily. She ran her fingers through her hair, and mussed it into wild disarray.

"You didn't give me an answer. Which tea do you prefer?"

"Green. Green is fine," she said, curtly.

He said something under his breath.

"What're you muttering about?"

Alec's head swivelled around, brow creased. "I wasn't talking about you, if that's what you think."

"You're always muttering."

Alec returned to his work, filling the goldenrod teapot with warm water from the tap.

"That water isn't hot enough to warm that pot. Tea won't stay hot more than a few minutes."

Again, Alec looked over his shoulder at Rose, this time slowly raising one eyebrow before returning his attention to the tea. "I know how to make tea, Rose. Been watching you do it nearly a year now."

The oven tray popped under the heating element. "Don't you think the sandwiches are probably done by now?" She didn't make a move to leave the table.

"You have legs and arms too," replied Alec, his back to her.

Rose sighed mightily. The chair legs groaned loudly as she pushed away from the table. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before she opened the oven door. "Too brown."

"Well, take them out, then."

"With my bare hands?" she asked.

Alec thrust an oven glove in Rose's general direction.

"Don't you have a normal pot holder? These things are rubbish. I feel like I'm a lobster or something.”

"No," he said emphatically, "I don't. So sorry. My kitchen isn't outfitted like Jamie Oliver's."

"Well, they're completely burnt now," whinged Rose as she fumbled to pull the tray from the oven.

"I'm sure they're fine," Alec muttered.

"Fine?" screeched Rose. "They're charcoal! And if you had a proper pot holder like a normal person, then maybe they wouldn't–"

Three piercing tones sounded, and then the pattern repeated.

"Well isn't this dandy." Alec strode to the window. He fought with the sticky window, and finally dislodged it, pushing it up with more force than necessary. With his hands firmly on his hips, he turned and rolled his eyes at Rose.

"Don't stand there and look at me like that! It's not my fault you're rubbish in the kitchen!" she spat, still holding the tray with the acrid-smelling sandwiches. She marched to the sink and dramatically dropped the hot metal. The burnt sandwiches slid into the sink.

"And you're an expert, how well I know! Complicated tea. Vegan chocolate. Not everyone can live up to your culinary expectations!"

"I only bought that chocolate because I was thinking of you!" she shouted. "Because I care about you!" She gasped a few times.

The smoke detector stopped wailing.

Alec looked up at the ceiling, and his tense shoulders fell. "And I was making your bloody complicated tea that would take a bloody chemist to figure out, because…” Alec paused and drew in a deep breath. "Because I care about you too!" He paced between the window and stove, scrubbing his stubbly face.

Rose hugged herself protectively and studied a black and white photo of a thistle.

"Look at us! You can't even look at me! And we're arguing about tea and… and… toast! And that's not even the real problem!"

"Yeah, well what is the real problem, then? Enlighten me, Detective Inspector Hardy," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, you know Rose," he said, squinting in irritation. "Don't stand there and tell me you don't. You bloody well know. I just brought you home from hospital. You had a migraine. Only the third one in your life you said. Am I right? It doesn't take a DI to figure out why!"

Rose released her arms and moved her hands to fiddle with the hem of her shirt.

Alec's shoulders sagged a bit as he stopped pacing. He leaned on the counter with one hand and ran the other one through his limp hair. "Tell me. Talk to me. Please," Alec implored.

She shook her head vigorously. "Don't wanna talk about it," she replied, hugging herself again.

"And I don't wanna see you getting migraines!" Alec threw up his arms.

"It's not like I get them all the time," she replied in a small voice, finally looking at him.

"Maybe they haven't been a regular occurrence, but if you keep whatever you and Simmonds were fighting about bottled up, that's gonna change. You know that, don't you?" His eyebrows remained raised as he waited for her reply.

Rose stood, silent. The smell of the burnt bread and cheese remained heavy in the air. She felt lost in the darkness of his eyes, neither knowing what to say, or wanting to say anything at all.

He sighed and shook his head. "Migraines. They're a… a…bloody waste of my time. My own dear mother used to get them. She would work through them. Ignore the pain. Refused to see anyone, or take any medication. Said they were her burden to bear." His accent was thick and heavy. "There would be this certain hollow look in her eyes. That's when I knew she was having one. I hated watching her suffer. She'd never speak to anyone about her own troubles." His voice softened. "Except to God of course when she knelt in prayer on the bottom step of our staircase." Now his eyes lost their angry flashing. "Mother was very devout. So humble. Meek. I think that’s what her minister would've called her. And she believed it was her duty to care for her mother without complaint. My grandmother had dementia. It was very, very hard on Mum. I don't know how she did it. Had the patience of a saint. Bathed her, cooked and spoon fed her meals, listened to her rambles. But the constant worry slowly wore Mother down."

"I'm so sorry, Alec." Rose drew close to Alec and placed her hand on his arm squeezing once.

Any traces of the anger from before had fully melted away now. He took Rose's hands into his own. "And then one day, Da found Mum with her head in her hands. She'd never told him. Can you believe that? He would come home from delivering the mails, and she'd smile, hide the pain and carry on. But one day, he came home early and found her. She finally told him. He literally carried her to their car, and drove her to see the doctor himself."

Not only was the anger gone, but his presence was different. He had called his parents Mum and Da with such love and admiration.

"Alec I–"

"Besides," he interrupted. "I hate having to sit around A&E. Waiting for you to wake up was boring," he said with a glint in his eyes. “They should reserve a room for you. You’ve been there so many times.”

She showed him the beginning of a smile. "You don't want me to get another headache because you're selfish?"

"Aye. Because I'm a completely selfish bastard," he corrected, drawing her closer.

Rose chuckled and shook her head.

"Trust me enough to make sub-standard tea and probably underdone cheesy toast by myself? Or do you want to supervise?" he asked.

She opened her mouth, but didn't speak for a bit, trying to come back with an equally sarcastic reply. "How about you do toast, I'll do tea?" Rose suggested instead.

Alec nodded. "Division of labour."

Wordlessly, they worked side by side, except for a few awkwardly-offered  _sorrys_  when one got in the other's way. Eight minutes later, they were sitting on the sofa in front of a crackling fire. They ate in silence, the lack of words hanging obviously between them.

"I should never have yelled at you like that," Rose said. "Your tea is perfect."

He smiled into his cup before taking a sip. "Ready to tell me now? What happened this morning?"

Rose nodded though the gesture was subtle. "I suppose — I suppose the fight started a long time ago. Been a long time coming." Rose told Alec about the argument between herself and Jake, which had occurred on the ride from Broadchurch to London after her stepfather's heart attack. Jake had lambasted her for hiding behind her false identity, accused her of running from her problems, not facing them. He'd accused Rose of seeing Alec as a Doctor stand-in, which she had denied. "Jake said I was being selfish and irresponsible – which was true. I knew that already. And I'd been fighting with myself for not telling you the truth, but I was so afraid you'd reject the real me."

"You do know that I'm never gonna do that, don't you?" Alec asked. There was a softness in his manner – his tone of voice, his eyes, even the way he was sitting, leaning forward, wanting to be closer to Rose.

One of the longer locks of Rose's now chin-length hair fell into her face as she looked down. He tucked it behind her ear. Rose closed her eyes as Alec rested his fingers against her cheek.

"Yeah. I know. I believe you. But Jake doesn't trust me anymore, Alec. He doesn't believe that I'll keep secrets from you. He wouldn't tell me why Torchwood sent a team here to Broadchurch. I used to be a team leader." Rose placed her hand over her heart, and her voice cracked as she spoke. "People depended on me to keep them safe. And — and I understand now that the explosion had _nothing_ to do with me, and everything to do with circumstances that were out of my hands. Something that happened in the other universe.”

He fought a sigh, holding his breath instead, and blinked once. His prominent Adam's apple bobbed under the stubble that covered his neck as he swallowed the words of disbelief that were on the tip of his tongue.  _She truly believes in this insane other universe business. Just support her,_  he said to himself.

"And he doesn't believe that I want to be with you for that matter. He brought up his ridiculous _you're a replacement for the Doctor argument."_

Alec halted her. "I don't give a flying fu– I don't care what Simmonds thinks about me. Your opinion is the only one that matters, Rose."

"Thank you." It was hard forcing any words out of her tight throat, past the building tears. She refused to cry again. She had Alec on her side, and they were together. "Thank you for making me tell you."

"Talking. Isn't that couples are supposed to do? According to all of those rubbish relationship books, at least. The magic pill to cure all of our problems. Communication." He pronounced each syllable separately, and Rose laughed. "So then why do you think Simmonds and his team of brawny boys are in town?" he asked.

"No clue. I haven't seen any hints of unusual or alien activity." Rose took a sip of her now-cold tea.

Alec scrubbed his face, but again, held back the skeptical remarks that he was dying to make. She had said 'alien activity' so naturally, like visits from little green men were routine.

"I might call Dad and ask him, just out of curiosity. If there's any danger, I think it's only fair that I know about it, right?"

"Mmm hmm." His affirmation was mainly for her benefit. He mentally added Pete Tyler to the list of people he needed to talk to about Rose's condition. "Do you know if Simmonds is still in town? Maybe I'll ask him myself." He had wanted to talk to Simmonds, but wondered if the man would even return his phone calls now.

"Don't know. I kicked him out of my shop." She smacked her forehead. "The hole in the wall. I need to get that patched. It looks shoddy, and I really don't want a bunch of people asking me about it."

"I'll do it for you."

"You will?" she asked.

"Aye. I'll do it tomorrow before you open. You're going to be needing a ride in any way, aren't you? Unless you plan on walking into town."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Forgot about that. Ellie gave me a ride to A&E, didn't she?" She frowned slightly. "You don't mind? Getting up before the crack of dawn?"

"I have to do it all the time. It's no problem at all. I have everything I'll need to patch the wall in the shed. Do you have any of that yellow paint left over?"

"It's goldenrod," she corrected with a cheeky grin, "and yeah, I do. Maybe your nickname should be DI DIY instead of DI Hotty," she teased, and then gasped, realising what she had said.

"DI Hotty?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," she admitted, then snorted a laugh.

"When you told me you'd given me a nickname, I sorta thought it would be something sweet, like Scruffyface. Or maybe a commentary on my demeanour. Grumpypants would suit me, I think." Alec half smiled, smug and cocky. "Wasn't expecting this."

Rose giggled playfully swatted his arm. "I've been calling you that for months behind your back. I'm surprised Ellie never told you."

He grimaced. "Baker knows?"

"Might've let it slip one night after a couple glasses of wine." She traced his cheekbone. "I started calling you that to myself after I saw you running on the beach in those really short shorts of yours. You have a very nice arse."

"Do I now?" He moved closer and tipped up his chin slightly. "So what you're saying is you knew I was _hot_  before you  _knew_  I was hot? That you were anticipating my prowess?" His eyes blackened and he moved close enough that his lips were hovering only a hair's breadth from hers.

"Mmm hmm." Rose licked her lips. "So how about another demonstration of your hotness? At least a taste of your hotness, that is.” She draped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes, dropping her lips onto his.

Alec drew in a deep breath through his nose and released it as he relaxed onto his back, bringing Rose down with him. “Just a taste?”

“Yes. Just a taste. You promised to give me time.”

“You’re unfair, woman.” 

They sighed in unison and then smiled against each other's mouths as they melted into each other's arms. They may have been able to taste the bitter tang of tea on each other's lips, but the bitterness of their anger was long gone. The fire crackled and popped as a gust of wind blew across the chimney and stoked the flame.

“My DI Alec Hotty," Rose whispered against his lips.

oOo

"I'm telling you, they need help! They are dying! We have to do something!" Steve Connolly begged into his mobile. "Why won't you let me talk to someone who has some authority?"

"Just calm down Mr. Connolly. I've taken down your information, and I will get it to someone in the morning. This is not an emergency. I'm sure the sea creatures will survive another night."

"But they aren't sea creatures!” he shouted. "They're aliens! They're stuck here!"

"There's no cause for you to holler at me, Mr. Connolly. You need to calm down." The police dispatcher pressed the mute button so she could no longer hear Steve's wails, but Connolly could hear her. "I'm going to ring off now. Goodnight, Mr. Connolly."


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is disappointed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta. All mistakes are mine.

Rose's mobile bounced off of Alec's duvet-covered thigh.

"Ow. Why'd ya throw your mobile at me?" Alec asked sleepily. He propped himself on his elbows and looked over at Rose. "Did you actually growl just now?"

She clenched her jaw and growled again, but this time, more intensely. "Jake just emailed me. He PayP-err...QuidBuddy'd five-hundred pounds to cover the cost of the wall. Look at this!"

"This is for the damage I did to your ugly yellow wall,” Alec read on her mobile screen, “and to pay for the overpriced coffee and tea. And your pastries are stale.” Alec looked up from the mobile. “And this man says he's your friend?" Alec asked. He scowled at the screen.

" _Was_ my friend, not _is_." Rose snatched her mobile from Alec's hand and slapped it on the bedside table. She sat up, and crossed her arms.

"What a bloody bastard." Alec's sleepy voice did not mask his anger. "Didn't even apologise for the wall."

"Course not. Who needs to apologise when you can forget you ever said anything in the first place?” Rose closed her eyes, tucked herself done under the duvet, and slammed her head against the pillow with a quiet growl.

Alec hummed knowingly. "I think I'm starting to get a better picture of what your friend Jake is all about."

"He never apologies. Jake just mows you down and moves on. Forgets anything ever happened!"

Alec sat up fully and stretched, reaching his fingertips up towards the exposed beams. He propped his pillow against the headboard and settled back. "Classic denial behaviour."

"You profiling him, DI?" Rose sat up and mirrored Alec's position, mimicking his crossed arms.

"That man is threatening your happiness. Of course I'm profiling him. It's my duty to protect you-"

“ _To protect_ me? Really?"

"Of course you don't need protecting! But you're..." Alec turned and looked at the woman next to him, the woman sharing his bed. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and she leaned her cheek into his hand. "You're my Rose."

She turned her head, looked at him. Her anger drained somewhat, leaving her eyes soft and warm with affection for this often hard man. “Yeah?”

"And as Jake rightly pointed out I did fail to protect you from Rowe."

"That was hardly your fault," she said softly. "Don't you dare ever blame yourself for what he did.”

"If something had happened to you, I would’ve  never forgiven myself."

Rose touched his lips with her fingertip, silencing him. "No more talk about that. It’s over. It’s Done.”

He nodded, and kissed her fingertip. “Aye. It’s done.”

"So,” Rose changed the subject, “the boys must’ve left town. Must mean they didn't find anything." She fiddled with her golden hoop earring as she looked over at Alec. “But I don't wanna talk about Jake anymore." She turned in place, snuggled into Alec and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, you don't have to fix my wall. I'll call a carpenter.”

"You will not," said Alec, more sharply than he intended.

"But you're so busy, and it's so early.”

"It's 4:45. That isn't really that early. And I want to do it. For you. It's ridiculous for you to pay some overpriced tinkerer for something so simple. I could do it with one eye closed."

Rose placed her hand on his stubbled cheek and kissed him tenderly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You need to clean your teeth," Alec said with a straight face.

"So do you." Rose laughed, and then sighed before she dropped her head back onto his shoulder. She chewed on her lip for a bit. "Sorry I fell asleep on you last night."

"And literally fall asleep on me, you did," he said with a chuckle. "You slept through some of my best work," he said, voice gravelly and thick.

Rose laughed into his neck.

"For a while, I thought you were simply putty in my hands. Too overcome by my magical lips to respond coherently."

"You do have a talent for kissing," said Rose into his warm, bed-scented neck.

“I’ve been practicing with a pillow."

Rose snorted a laugh. "When did you figure out I was asleep?" She fingered the hem of her cream-coloured camisole.

Alec smiled. "When you stopped groping my arse and sucking on my tongue like a lolly."

Rose blushed fiercely. "I wasn't groping, I was massaging."

"Do I sound like I'm complaining?" he asked. His eyes twinkled as he pulled her closer. Alec licked his lips once and then placed a series of hot wet kisses along her collarbone, to the well of her neck. He stopped, lingered and then hummed into the gentle swell of her left breast, leaving a rosy mark, a private reminder that only they would know about. 

Rose looked over at the clock radio. "It's 4:50,” Rose said breathlessly. 

“Aye. We don't have the time. Not to do it properly."

“Alec,” Rose warned.

His eyes were nearly black. Smouldering. Seductive. “All you have to do is tell me when, and I’ll be ready.”

“You’re always ready.” Rose half smiled.

Alec pulled her even closer, feeling the warmth within her arms, but then abruptly set up. “Ring, ring. Ring, ring.”

Rose frowned. “Why’re you making that horrible sound?” 

“Just humour me. Answer your mobile.”

She raised an eyebrow, but did as he said. She made a show of holding it up to her ear. “Helloooooooooo?”

“Is this Ms. Tyler? Ms. Rose Tyler of the London Tylers?”

“Yes,” Rose giggled. “This is she.”

“This is Detective Inspector Alec Hardy of the Broadchurch Police Department. I believe we have spoken a time or two. I’m the tall, handsome man who always orders Earl Grey tea at that somewhat pretentious café of yours.”

“Oi! Be nice. My shop is _not_ pretentious.”

“I’m sorry, I take that back. I’m known to be rude and irritable.” 

“So, what can I do for you, Detective Inspector Hardy?” Rose asked.

“I was wondering if you would be interested in going out with me. Tonight, perhaps. There’s a little Italian place that I hear is decent?”

“You mean, like, a date?” Rose asked, looking at Alec.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean. A date.” He paused. “I understand you’re the type of woman who likes to take things slowly.” Alec took the mobile from Rose’s hand, and dropped it on the bed. “We only went on one proper date. Don’t you think it’s time for a second one?”

“Yeah. I’d love that.”

Alec kissed her soundly and then pulled her up and off of the bed with him. "Want some oatmeal before we go in? You can make tea at the shop."

"Oatmeal sounds good. I didn't get any in the slow cooker yesterday. We still have blueberries, right?" Rose said.

"I ate them all. But we can get more."

"Anything else to add to the list? I can pop into Tesco after I close up the shop this afternoon."

Alec pulled Rose into his arms, and rocked her from side to side. "You know, you said _we_.”

Rose's eyes became round, as her mind raced. Had she spoken too soon? She opened her mouth to apologise, but he touched her lips and looked down into her worried eyes. "I really do like the idea of  _we_."

"Me too," she replied, her voice whisper-thin and slightly hoarse. She leaned into him with a sigh, resting her cheek on his bare chest. 

“My things are arriving sometime today, you know,” she said into his chest.

Alec grunted.

“This was never permanent a permanent thing. Me staying here.”

“Yeah.”

oOo

"Dean wants me to go with him to Penzance. Can I leave early on Friday?" Chloe asked casually.

"Yeah, of course. What's in Penzance?" Rose asked.

"He told me there's a speciality shop there that has this part for his motorcycle he's been looking for."

Rose's mobile buzzed on her hip. "Hello, this is Rose… Yeah… Okay… I'll meet you there in an hour." She ended the call. "As a tradeoff for Friday, would you mind the shop for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah, sure. Something up?" Chloe asked.

Rose nodded. "My stuff is gonna be delivered to my house in an hour. Would've been nice to have a bit more notice."

"So you're moving back home, then?"

Rose nodded, and walked into the storage room. Her stomach dropped as she stared at the screen of her mobile for a moment before tapping the picture of Alec's face. "Hey, it's me," she said, quietly. "My stuff is arriving today, so I'm heading over to my house. Ring me when you get this message. Bye."

oOo

"Um, put the sofa right here, in front of the fireplace, and... that aqua chair, put that..." Rose thought for a moment. "Put that to the left of the fireplace." This time, Rose chose more vibrant shades of blue and cheerful highlights of yellow to contrast with the more neutral style she had lived with as Gwen Lewis.

Almost all of the furniture that the movers were bringing into her bungalow was new to her as most of her things had been destroyed by Marcus Rowe. She’d bought the furniture to furnish the old caretaker’s cottage where she’d been living on her parent’s property. 

Rose tried hard not to think about rarely that horrible night, but some nights, she couldn't help herself. It could have been so much worse, and it was easy to let her mind race to a dark place. She hoped that new furniture, arranged differently, would go far to push away those bad memories. Not only had Rowe almost taken her life on that rainy, violent night, she had almost lost her chance at a life with Alec.

"Hello, hello," Ellie greeted cheerfully. She rapped on the frame of the open door a few times before walking in to Rose's front room. "Nice new things you have. Insurance paid for all of it, I would hope, right?"

"Insurance settlement hasn't come through yet." Rose put her hands on her hips as she surveyed her new things. "I know it's sorta mismatched, but I didn't want to go broke replacing everything. I bought the sofa on markdown. Someone special-ordered it, but didn't like it."

"Oh, I do. Very posh." Ellie rubbed her hand over the subtly textured, cream-coloured velvet.

"But is to too formal? I'm trying to make my place comfortable, not stuffy."

"Not stuffy at all. Sorta eclectic. I really like it!"

"I found that peacock blue chair at a second hand store. It's a bit shabby, but it's comfy."

Ellie dropped into the somewhat whimsical blue chair. "Oh, this  _is_  comfy. Good cuppa with a book chair." She scanned the room. "Oh, I love those big cushions there in the corner. Exotic. Hang one of those swag lamps from the ceiling and it'll feel just like you're in a tent right outta the Arabian Nights. Very romantic." Ellie smiled as she looked around the room.

"I don't have any pictures on the walls or anything. Rowe smashed all of the glass, then slashed the pictures. He must've thought I'd stuck money between the pictures and the paper backing. Feels a bit sparse in here, what with no decorations or knickknacks."

"I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding new stuff to buy. New memories. Right?" said Ellie, cheerfully.

"Yeah. Exactly. New memories." She paused and looked at the small pile of boxes in the lounge. "Can you believe this is everything I own? Sorta nice not having a tonne of stuff."

"Right you are. Moving to our new home was a right pain in the arse. I had no idea how many Legos my boys had! Joe was always buying new building sets for the boys." Ellie's smile vanished for a moment, but then she cleared her throat and her cheerfulness reappeared. "I will never buy another brick. Not one!"

"Want a cup of tea or bottle of Vitex or something?" Rose asked, walking into the kitchen.

"You already stocked your fridge? How are you so organised?" Ellie smiled as she followed Rose.

"I just brought a few things home from the shop, actually. Tea, some biscuits, crackers, and the like. I need to get some groceries. My mattress doesn't arrive until next week. It's the one thing I splurged on, and it's coming directly from the factory in Sweden."

Tiger ambled into the kitchen, nudging Ellie in the leg.

"Oh, hello boy! I missed you so much!" Ellie leaned over and ruffled the brindle greyhound's ears.

"Mum was tired of taking care of him. Rather, I think she was tired of trying to keep Tony from trying to ride him like a horse – so she put him on the truck with the movers. I'm sure the driver  _loved_  that. I'm glad he's here though. I've missed him." Rose patted her faithful dog's flank.

"He was in the back of the truck all the way from London?" Ellie asked, regarding the idea with contempt.

"No! No, I didn't mean that. He was with the driver." Rose laughed as she opened the refrigerator, motioning for Ellie to choose a beverage.

The women moved to the sofa to stay out of the way of the movers.

"I couldn't help but notice that Alec is back to his miserable, grumpy self."

"Really? He was in a good mood when he left my shop this morning," Rose said before taking a sip of water.

Ellie hummed. "What time did your stuff arrive? I have a feeling it will coincide with his mood swing."

"Right after lunch."

"Ding, ding, ding!"

Rose pressed her lips together and nodded. "It was never a permanent thing, staying with him. He has to know that. Right?"

"Course he knows, but he's completely in love with you. He's going to miss having you with him," said Ellie, twisting the cap off of a bottle of lemon-lime Vitex.

Rose smiled, and tilted her head to the side. Her longish fringe fell over her face, hiding her flushed cheeks. "Yeah. Just not ready to move in, you know? Now that I'm — _me_  again, I want to just learn to be me. Again. Sounds strange I know—”

"I completely understand." Ellie paused. "Wine tonight?"

"I'm sorry, I can't." Rose felt her cheeks flush. She cleared her throat.

Ellie studied Rose for a moment, and then snorted a laugh. "Right," she drawled.

“Come off it, not what you’re thinking.” Playfully, Rose slapped Ellie’s arm. “Alec asked me out to dinner. A second date.” 

“Really? That is very possibly _the most romantic thing_ I have _ever_ heard, given Hardy being, well, Hardy.”

“We’re taking things slowly this time ‘round.” Rose looked out the window.

Ellie nodded. “Sorta unusual relationship situation the two of you are in, isn’t it?”

“You can say that again.” Rose chuckled.

“I think going slow is a good idea. Get to know each other properly.”

“You usually can’t do wine mid-week. Why are you off so early?" Rose asked. She replaced the cap on her bottle of sparkling water, only to twist it back off again.

"I had an early call this morning. Strangest thing. A group of people were brought into A&E this morning. On holiday from Kent according to some stuff we found in their rental car. They were found wandering in circles on the beach, just like the others."

Rose's eyebrows shot up, and she leaned forward. "Really? That sounds… unusual." She stilled her hands as adrenaline, which generally preceded a Torchwood operation, flooded her body.

"The doctors are at a loss. Nothing's wrong with them, not really. At least nothing they can find upon examination. They came in basically catatonic, and then fell into a coma, and then woke up without any memory of how they got there. No permanent damage, no injury, nothing. Same pattern. We’re involved, but not. Nothing illegal’s going on, but it is odd. Suspicious.”

 _Guess I wasn't dreaming it up, then,_  Rose thought to herself as she nodded in agreement.

oOo

"Sir, I just received a flash memorandum from InfoComm."

Jake grunted a vague acknowledgement, but kept his eyes glued to his computer screen.

"Sir, the suspicious activity occurred in Broadchurch." Agent Geoffrey Matthews stood straight and tall in the exact centre of the doorway to Jake's office.

"Broadchurch? Again?" Jake looked up from his computer screen, squinting at his serious-faced subordinate.

Matthews nodded once. "InfoComm Division intercepted a suspicious 999 call from a resident of Broadchurch to Broadchurch PD. The Suspicious Activity Likelihood Algorithm has designated the conversation to be a category four."

Jake sighed, leaning back in his office chair, and stretched his arms overhead. "A four isn't that high.”

"I think that you would to agree it would be worth our while to investigate further, Sir. The caller is on Torchwood's Psychic Ability Watch List."

"What's his ability rating?" asked Jake.

"Gamma."

Jake frowned, drumming his fingers on his desk. “That’s high.”

"Quite. And even though the microrift readings we gathered yesterday proved the rift to be benign, the particulars of the conversation between the local law enforcement representative and Mr. Steve Connolly are bothersome to say the least. Agent Hernandéz and I could make quick work of an investigation."

Jake sighed. "There's that drinks thing after work tonight. I thought you were going to that?"

"Nothing I can't miss." Matthews clasped his hands behind his back.

"Maeve from human resources will be there." Jake looked up from his work. "Maybe the two of you could have an actual conversation instead of stammering like a couple of thirteen year olds.”

Matthews cleared his throat. "The investigation, Sir," he deflected.

"Coward," Jake teased.

"Possibly, Sir," Matthews said with a straight face.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Maeve came round and asked for you this morning. There's a form she forgot to give you when you were hired on. She needs you to sign it."

"Right." Geoffrey’s voice cracked subtly. "I'll take care of that straightaway."

Jake shook his head and chuckled. "Just go to the bloody pub with us tonight and ask her out already. The SALL is only a four. You and Dez can go first thing tomorrow. So don't drink too much cider."

"Never, Sir."

“Geoff, do you ever lighten up?" Jake asked before he took a drink from his water bottle.

"Not really, Sir."

Jake shook his head, and then returned his attention to the computer screen. He opened the file containing the new information out of Broadchurch. After reviewing, he ran his hand down his face, and then picked up his mobile only to stare at it. He couldn't put off telling Pete about the incident with Rose any longer.

He also had a feeling that the return to Broadchurch was going to be more than a one-day affair this time. But the thought of being in the same town as Rose for more than twelve hours made him feel more than a bit uneasy.

oOo

Rose sat sideways on Alec's sofa. She traced the rim of her mug, eyes unfocused as she looked in the direction of the flames dancing on the wrought iron grate.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Rose startled at the suddenness of Alec's presence behind the sofa. "When did you come in? I didn't even hear the door open."

He leaned over the back of the sofa, and she craned her neck, their lips meeting halfway for a quick kiss.

"Just now. Came in through the back door." He joined her on the sofa. Condensation on the chilly bottle of water that he was holding glistened in the firelight. His hair was wet from the thick rain, and his feet were bare, as he'd removed his soaked running shoes and socks at the back door.

“Good run?” Rose turned sideways on the sofa and gave her full attention to Alec.

He leaned in and kissed her for the second time in less than a minute. Rose smiled against his mouth.

"Run was good, but I missed my running partner. I didn't go down to the beach though. Sand is far too mucky in weather like this. I did, however, get splashed by quite a few very rude drivers.

"Probably women who wanted to see you in clingy, wet running shorts," said Rose, teasing him with her tongue-touched grin.

He grunted, but offered her the hint of a smile after a moment.

"I'm sorry I couldn't run with you today. Movers.” she said in a rush. "I didn't have but a few minutes warning. And then Tiger was part of the delivery, and I didn't have any food in the house for him, and then Ellie came over, and wanted a good chat, and then-"

"Sounds like you've had a busy day." Both Alec's face and voice were neutral. "I assume you're packed and ready to leave then?"

"Um, I'm packed, but — but no, not really ready to go." Rose sniffed once before she set her mug on the side table.

"Then why are you going?" he asked.

"I need to go, Alec. I need to remember what it's like to be me. To be Rose." She left out the bit about her mattress not arriving for another week, and how she planned to sleep on her sofa.

Alec sighed heavily, letting his head lean back against the sofa, mouth gaping open. He scrubbed his hand down his face, frustrated. "Haven't we been over this? You are you, you are you, you are you! There is absolutely no difference between now and when you called yourself Gwen Lewis!"

"Alec…" Rose squeezed her eyes shut, and rubbed her temples. "I thought you understood."

"No, actually I don't. Why do you have to move back into your house to find yourself!" He sprung from the sofa and began to pace.

“I’m not having some kind of ‘I need to find myself’ thing. Don’t be so melodramatic,” Rose snarked.

"I'm not being melodramatic," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you are." Rose sighed. "Listen, I can tell you're frustrated. I just…" Rose shrugged her shoulders. "I need to live on my own for a while, without everything about me being a lie."

Alec plopped back onto the sofa and stared into the fireplace, his elbows on his knees.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, easing him back. "Please, don't be angry. Don't shut me out."

"I'm not angry. I want to be in your life. All of it." He continued to stare into the fire.

Rose smiled, and gently nudged his chin so they were again eye to eye. "Even if you don't understand why I'm doing this, I need you to know that this is a me thing, not an us thing. Please believe me?" she asked softly, holding his gaze.

Alec drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Stay with me tonight?" He opened his eyes slowly.

"I won't answer you until you answer my question. Do you believe me?" she repeated.

"Yes. I believe you. I don't like it, in fact, I hate it. But I believe you. Because you're you. Do you understand my confusion?" he asked.

"Yeah, I suppose I do. Truce?" she asked, one eye closed.

"Truce. Agree to disagree. Detente." He blinked slowly.

Rose moved closer. She could feel the chill of the skin on his thigh, still cold from his run in the rain, through the material of her skinny khaki trousers. She cupped his cheek, feeling the prickle of his seven o'clock stubble against her palm. His lips were tight and drawn. Rose brushed her thumb across his lower lip, and his mouth relaxed against her touch. His breath was quick and measured, and his eyes were trained on hers, intense and unwavering, as he waited for her reply.

"Yeah. I'll stay." Rose looked down at her lap. A lock of her hair fell from behind her ear, and fell across her face. She chewed on her lip. "Was hoping you wanted me to stay tonight."

Alec leaned in, swallowing hard. "Thank you."

"I'm never gonna leave you, Alec." She examined his eyes, and then her eyes darted to his lips.

His breath hissed as he quickly drew in air through his nose, and then his arms were around her, engulfing her, pulling her close. She smelled the salty air clinging to his skin, mixed with the heady, masculine scent of his recent run. Just as quickly as he embraced her, his lips were on hers, hungry, devouring, and needy. Sounds of desire rumbled in his throat, and were soon echoed by Rose. He nipped at her jawline, at her her neck, and then placed kiss after kiss below her ear.

Alec's mobile rang.

_”Sorry to bother you, Alec. You know how Steve Connolly was in hospital in a coma, and then magically came out of it? Two more were brought in yesterday, and then another two this afternoon. All had taken walks on the beach.”_

Alec sat up. "Why is this a police matter, Baker?"

_”Connolly called 999 last night and made some wild claims about jellyfish and flashing lights. The call was logged, but ignored because well…-“_

"Because let's be honest, it was Connolly who called, and he's a nutter," interrupted Alec.

_”Pretty much. But then this happened. The others who came out of their comas gave the same information to the doctors and nurses. All of them said they saw flashing jellyfish. One of the nurses called 999 about an hour ago scared out of her wits claiming there's a demon on the beach. Chief wants story start an investigation. There are two new patients in hospital and the beach has been taped off, and a couple of cops have been posted to keep watch."_

"Demon? Call Coates! This isn't a police matter!"

_”Listen, I'm sorry I interrupted you, but the Chief wants us on this right now."_

"She wants us to go down to the beach? Tonight? We won't be able to see a bloody thing!" he complained.

_”No, not to the beach tonight, you loon. To the hospital!”_

He furrowed his brows, and looked over at Rose, who began to giggle again at the look on his face.

_”Sooner you get your arse down here, the sooner you can get back to Rose.”_

"Baker," Alec said in a warning tone.

 _”What?_ ” Ellie drawled. _”I can hear her giggling in the background.”_

Alec ended the call abruptly. He turned to Rose. "I'm really sorry, but I have to meet Baker at hospital."

"What? Is she okay?" Rose asked.

"She's fine. We have to take statements from a few patients, which will be a complete waste of time, and I'll probably be back in about an hour. Too late to go out to dinner. I’ll bring something back.”

Rose nodded. ”Can you say what's going on?" she asked tactfully.

"A nurse down at the hospital is spooked, and it's been an extremely slow week at the station, so I'm sure the Chief thinks I have absolutely nothing better to do than chase down claims of flashing jellyfish."

"Flashing jellyfish? Whaddya mean?" Rose leaned forward.

"Hell if I know. What a bloody waste of police time!" Alec stomped away to change out of his wet clothing.

Rose heard the water from the shower hitting the tile. She frowned as she recalled her conversation at her home with Ellie, earlier that afternoon. 'Flashing jellyfish' had Torchwood written all over it. Hastily, she jumped off of the sofa, and found a pair of trainers and an oatmeal-brown cardigan. "I'm coming with you," Rose hollered.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose is curious. And cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No betas. All mistakes are mine.

“Alec poked out his head from behind the shower curtain. “Why’d you wanna do that?” The aged faucet tap squeaked and the pipes protested as he turned off the water.

Rose skittered out of the steamy room and semi-closed the door before he could fully emerge from the steam. Alec pulled a towel off of a hook and vigorously dried his hair, and then fastened it around his waist before he entered the bedroom.

“Well, I wanna be with you. ‘Cos I’m interested in this case. Lotsa reasons,” she said, looking down at the floor.

“I cannot have you coming with me, Rose, Love.” His accent was thick. “Can you imagine how that would look? Me bringing you along on an investigation?” Alec dressed quickly, putting on the same clothing he’d worn to work that day.

“Oi! You embarrassed to be seen with me?” Rose teased, looking away until he was clothed.

“Aye. I am embarrassed, no, mortified, to be seen with you,” he replied with an eye roll. “You have to agree that it would be unprofessional to bring my girlfriend along on an investigation.”

Rose raised an eyebrow and elbowed him. “Girlfriend, eh?”

“Would you rather I called you my lady friend? Or how about lover?” He caressed the word with his tongue.

She snorted a laugh and vigorously shook her head. “No. No use of the word  _luvah_. Ever.”

Alec half smiled. The ribbed fabric of his dark blue tie zipped as he tugged the wide end through the loop. “Not even in private?”

“Maybe. If the lighting is just right – in front of the fireplace would be okay. And there has to be wine involved.”

“That can be arranged.” Alec cupped her cheek, and then kissed her softly and slowly. His lips glided over hers as his hands slid down her back.

“You’re being dangerous, DI. You need to be going,” she said huskily against his lips.

Alec hummed his agreement, squeezed once. “Was that a lover-worth kiss?”

Rose swallowed hard and nodded before clearing her throat to collect her thoughts. “I can be of help to you. This investigation is gonna be different, Alec.” Rose’s hand was resting on his chest, and she emphasized each word with a small tap of her pointer finger.

Alec smiled, but didn’t answer. He snatched Rose’s hand from his chest, and pressed a quick kiss to her palm before he darted back into the bathroom.

“Last time I checked, hospitals are public places, Detective Inspector, and I have every right to be there. Just as much as you do.” Rose leaned on the doorframe to the en suite as she watched Alec straighten his tie.

“This is a police investigation,” said Alec, looking in the mirror. “You aren’t a police officer. You’re not coming... Tyler.” His eyes shifted so he could catch her reaction in the reflection in the mirror.

It hadn’t really become an argument, nor was it simply flirtatious banter. But now, there was crackling tension buried under their words.

She smirked, pushing herself off of the doorframe. “Fine. Never say I didn’t offer to help you with anything, and I’m uniquely suited to bring my expertise to the investigation,” stated Rose.

Rose did a half pirouette on her toes before joining him fully in the bathroom. She sandwiched herself behind him, pressing herself against his back as she peered around his shoulder to look at herself in the mirror. Rose ran her fingers through.

Alec tousled his hair for a moment before speaking. “Why are you so interested in this?” He crossed his arms, turned, and rested his backside on the edge of the sink.

Rose slid her hands up and under his crossed arms, forcing them to unfold. She rested her own hands on his chest. The firmly set face that was studying hers softened, and he pulled her close, his hands low on her back. Their eyes locked for a few heartbeats as Alec drew tiny circles near the top of her trousers.

She kissed his chest, and then looked into his eyes. “I'm interested because, well, it's sort of a reflex, I suppose. And... because this is what we did - me and the Doctor - when we were in the other universe. We heard about strange things, and then, well, we helped out if something needed to be done. We saved people.”

The look in Alec’s eyes hardened slightly as he clenched his jaw.

Rose sighed. “And then once I got stuck here, me and my Torchwood team did the same sorta things. We investigated. We sorted out problems. We helped people. I suppose it makes me feel needed and useful and… like me. The real me. Not Gwen Lewis.” She paused. “It makes me feel like Rose Tyler again.”

Alec pinched his lips together, took a few measured breaths, fighting the urge to counter her claims. _Don't say anything, she believes it's true,_ he repeated to himself. Alec moved his hands up to her shoulders, squeezed once, and then escaped the stuffy bathroom. He scurried around the foot of the bed to retrieve his mobile, and then shoved it into a pocket before leaving the bedroom.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, following him out. “Blimey.” She chuckled quietly and turned her head to look out the kitchen window. “This must be really bother you. You really think I’m off my nut, don’t you?”

“I don’t think that at all, Rose.” He shook his head, and spoke quietly, already regretting words not yet spoken. “I really believe that you believe you and James – or as you call him, the Doctor – are from another universe. But I think it is some sort of a self-defence mechanism to cope with loss and grief.” His voice increased both in speed and volume. “I think your mind has carefully crafted a… a… an elaborate story to explain the tragedy you experienced in that explosion. I understand that you believe you were trying to go back to…” He paused. “Trying to get back to this other universe you believe in. That place is probably as real to you as you are to me right now.”

Rose’s mouth hung open for a moment, but then she closed it.

“I’m not doubting you were an agent with Torchwood. Simmonds verifies that. Your father does as well. Not to mention your amazing self-defence skills.”

Her eyebrows lowered and she closed her eyes. Alec mentally kicked himself for not keeping his mouth shut.

Rose looked up at the ceiling. “It. Isn’t. A. Story. I get that it’s highly improbable, Alec, but it’s true,” she said, shrugging. Alec opened his mouth to rebut, but Rose interrupted. “Listen, I get that you don’t believe that me and the Doctor travelled together in another universe. So just go ahead and forget that part. I do understand your skepticism. I get it! But Alec, Torchwood… You know Torchwood is real, you know it is a secret organisation that handles all sorts of weird, crazy things.”

He put one hand on his hip, and made a rolling gesture with the other, encouraging her to continue. “All right, go on.”

“My dad told you what Torchwood does. He showed you the video footage from the night that the President was assassinated. You saw the Cybermen.”

Alec’s mouth was set in a firm line. He nodded once and crossed his arms.

Mimicking Alec, Rose crossed her own arms and stood taller. “Did you trust those EarPods?” Her voice lost all of its softness.

“Yeah, well, it’s pretty damn creepy to see everyone drop whatever they’re doing and laugh at the same joke.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t use ‘em, did you?”

He rolled his eyes. “No. Course I didn’t. Anyone who did was a bloody idiot. Never had a set. I refused to wear them.”

“So you knew those things weren’t to be trusted. But why didn’t you? You were suspicious, weren’t you?” she asked.

“I was, I admit it. I didn’t… I didn’t like the idea of something going into my mind like that. And I did wonder how they became so popular so quickly. No one even questioned them. Stupid people just shoved ‘em into their ears and went on their merry way, letting someone tell them what was funny, what was sad, what was important. Aye, the whole business was odd. But no, it never occurred to me that a madman was using alien technology. Evil genius, yes. But aliens? No.”

“Torchwood handles those things that the regular police or even the military aren’t equipped to deal with. I have seen things you wouldn't believe, not in a million years, DI. We investigated all those strange phenomenons--"

“Phenomena. The plural of phenomenon is phenomena,” corrected Alec.

“Whatever,” she said under her breath as he brushed past her.

He retrieved his dark overcoat from a peg by the back door and slipped it on.

“I think that whatever happened to those poor people you’re going to visit has something to do with Torchwood showing up yesterday. Just out of the blue. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

Alec halted and spun on his heel. “What would your Torchwood want with coma patients in Broadchurch?”

“I don’t know, but that’s why I want to come with you!” Rose threw her hands up. “Even you have to admit it’s all very suspicious, Alec. People found on the beach wandering in circles? They couldn’t talk, they didn’t recognise that anyone is even with them, and then they go into a coma for no reason at all? Only to come out of it with only the memory of weird flashing jellyfish? And no physical evidence to explain why they were even in a coma in the first place? It is screaming alien.”

“Alien,” Alec said with a sigh.

“Yeah. Alien.” Again, Rose crossed her arms, but this time, she tipped her chin defiantly.

“Oh bloody hell,” Alec muttered. He blew air through his lips in frustration, but then put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s not worth arguing over. The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back,” he said quietly.

She looked to the right and left, but not at him. “I know you don’t believe me, but don’t patronise me.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with one hand. “I don’t want to argue about this, Rose. Please.” The lines around his eyes were pronounced, deep with fatigue and worry. “And I am truly sorry that you think I’m patronising you. I’m not.” Alec caught her chin with his fingertips and kissed her gently. 

Alec looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s 19:45 now. I should be back no later than twenty-one. I’ll call if anything changes. All right?”

“Looks like our date is off.” Rose frowned. “You promised me dinner. I didn’t cook anything. I think you owe me chocolates.”

“I’ll get you real ones. In a box. And we’ll go out tomorrow.”

She sighed dramatically. “Hazard of being a copper’s girlfriend.” Rose adjusted Alec’s tie at the knot, and smiled.

He kissed her forehead, and let his lips linger for a bit before he spoke. “I’m a skeptic, Rose. But that doesn’t mean I don’t support you. You do understand that, right?”

She nodded her reply, afraid to speak, afraid her voice would crack from the weight of her disappointment in _herself_. She thought she had accepted and understood his skepticism. Why was she so upset about it now? She sniffed, and straightened her back, releasing the tension in her shoulders.

“Hurry back. I want to hear everything about it,” said Rose. “Think I’ll go for a short run. It’ll clear my head and get my adrenaline pumping.”

“See you soon. And be careful out in the dark. Stick to well-lit areas.”

“I’m careful. Plus I have those mad self-defence skills.”

Alec nodded, and left.

oOo

Alec stood with his hands on his hips as he listened to the nurse, the same one who had called 999 and instigated the investigation. The investigation that had started the argument with Rose.

"Mrs. Woolsey came out of coma first. She was very, very frightened when she awoke. Almost in a panic, she was. Dr. Boyd ordered her a sedative.” The nurse’s voice quivered.

“So what prompted you to call the police?” Ellie asked the nurse.

“If you’d heard what they’d described, you would have called, too. Something is not right down there, Inspectors. I don’t know if it is supernatural or natural, but I know it’s frightening, and there’ve already been five victims! Five!”

"I will need to ask your patients some questions," Alec commanded.

“They’re both in the same room. Room four. It’s just around the corner." The nurse pointed. "Reverend Coates is in with them now, though."

"Why's he here?" Alec asked, frowning.

"They asked for the vicar to come pray with them. They were clearly terrified, and rightly so! They woke up exactly at the same time. I saw it with my own eyes. And then they went on to compare their stories. They both claimed to have had visions of demonic creatures,” answered the nurse. "I sent for Reverend Coates, told him to come as soon as he could. I’d do the same for any patient requesting spiritual aid. Reverend Coates does serve as hospital chaplain after all.”

Alec jotted down a few lines in his notebook. “Depending on what the Woolseys have to say, I may have more questions for you and the doctor.” Alec looked up from his notepad. "Don't leave," he ordered. “And let Dr. Boyd know he shouldn’t leave the premises either.”

“I’ll let him know, Inspector,” the nurse replied with a small nod. “I’m about to go off shift. I'm utterly exhausted. It's been a very trying few days.”

“I know, ma’am, you must be right and truly knackered, but if you could just hang about for a bit longer?” Ellie asked.

“How long exactly is a bit longer?” The nurse removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes with one hand before putting them back on.

Alec looked up and down the corridor. “Could be an hour, could be four–“

“Oh, it won’t be long,” interrupted Ellie, offering the woman a small smile.

“Thanks.” The nurse returned to her duties.

“Would you stop doing that?” muttered Alec.

“Doing what?”

“Making promises we can’t keep, Baker. We have no idea how long this is going to take.”

“Would it kill you to not be such a prat?” Ellie glowered.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, it would!” he replied, glaring at the sergeant.

“Are you upset that Rose is moving back to her house?”

The muscles in his jaw flexed.

“You are so easy to read. Don’t take it out on me,” Ellie chirped.

“Baker,” he grunted.

“Never mind that. You’re the one who said we shouldn’t even be here. Just how many questions do you plan on asking?”

“As many as I need to get this case closed and off of my desk.” Alec cleared his throat. “So the Woolseys. Sounds like they're the religious type,” Alec said.

"Why does that matter?" asked Ellie, walking slightly behind Alec.

”They didn't see things, they saw visions. Loaded term -visions. And they asked for the vicar, not the police. The nurse called for a police investigation, not them. See why I don’t think this is a police matter?”

The team reached the room, and halted outside of the open door for a moment. 

"The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Reverend Coates read aloud from a worn Bible in his lap. "I know you're afraid of these... creatures... that you saw. But God is with you, right here, even in this hospital room,” said Reverend Paul Coates.

"But demons, they disguise themselves as angels of light, Reverend! The Bible says so.” The female voice quivered as she spoke. "And whatever it was we all saw, it was not of the physical world."

"Did you know that less than five percent of the earth's oceans have been explored?” Paul leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “It is possible that what you saw was a sea creature that simply communicates differently, Mrs. Woolsey. God's creation is vast. It’s full of mysteries and beauty. We can't begin to know everything that’s out there.” Out of the corner of his eye, Paul caught movement. “Oh, Inspector Hardy, Detective Baker, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were standing there.” Paul stood from the dull green plastic chair and placed the Bible on a table.

Alec nodded a greeting to the vicar, and in turn, the patients. The privacy curtain that normally divided the room in two was drawn. "I'm DI Hardy. This is DS Baker. We understand that you had some sort of an encounter down on Broadchurch beach. I need you to tell us what happened."

"Encounter? This wasn’t a simple encounter, Inspector. Satan's own minions invaded our minds! Stole our memories!" Mrs. Woolsey pulled the thin, white blanket up under her chin as she sunk further into the bed.

"Edith, you need to calm yourself," said Mr. Woolsey. “Reverend Coates has prayed, and whatever those things are, they're gone now. The doctor has told us that there has been no permanent brain damage, and-"

"Don't you tell me to calm myself, Clive! I know what I saw, and-"

"Mrs. Woolsey, why don't you describe what you saw to us.” Alec stood at a respectable distance from the foot of the bed, notebook poised in his hand.

"I don't need to describe it, I've drawn it. I'm an artist, well, drawing is my hobby. I'm not a professional or anything, but I have won a few amateur art contests. Here." She handed a sheet of paper with a pencil sketch to the Inspector. 

He accepted the paper and glanced at it before handing it to Ellie, who studied it.

"Would you mind if we keep this? We can scan it and get it back to you," asked Ellie, examining the detailed, and skillfully-executed, drawing.

“Heaven help me, keep it! I don't want it back! I never want to see it again!" whispered the frightened woman. 

"These creatures..." Alec began. He heaved a heavy sigh, and adjusted his glasses.

"Yes. The glowing demons. Fiery, terrible things!” hissed Mrs. Woolsey.

“Mine looked like an jellyfish octopus – but with only four legs. Clear like a jellyfish, but octopussy-like,” reported Mr. Woolsey. “But four arms. So a quadropus, really.” The man laughed.

“It isn’t funny, Clive!”

Mr. Woolsey cleared his throat and quieted.

“Octopus? I thought they were jellyfish." Alec pressed his lips into a hard line. He took the drawing from Ellie and glowered at it. “This looks like a squid, not a jellyfish,” muttered Alec.

“What about the flashing that you all mentioned to the nurse?” asked Ellie.

“You know those creatures that live deep, deep down in the ocean? The ones that are… what’s it called? Bio something,“ started the husband.

“Bioluminescent?” suggested Hardy.

“Yes. Bioluminescent. Saw a brilliant documentary on telly about that a while back. It was sort of like that. The creature was sort of… of outlined with these lights, and they were flashing. Different colours. All sorts of colours. Beautiful in a way, really.”

“Clive,” Mrs. Woolsey said in a warning tone. “Demons may look beautiful, but they are far from it! Stop making fun!”

“But I’m not convinced they were demons, Sweetheart. Like the vicar said, we don’t know very much about the oceans, or space for that matter. Who knows! They could be aliens, even! If they were demons, why weren’t we permanently hurt?”

“Aliens? You believe in aliens now? What about the Yeti? Or Nessie? I’ve put up with your wild conspiracy theories about werewolves and the Royals – God save the former Queen - but I never took you for a fool, Clive. Honestly! Aliens?” Mrs. Woolsey’s lower jaw quivered.

Alec flipped his writing tablet closed, and sighed with dramatic flair. He whipped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“I understand that you are afraid Mrs. Woolsey,” interjected Reverend Coates. “But the Lord doesn’t want us to live in a spirit of fear, but to have faith that–“

“Let’s skip the Sunday School lesson, Reverend,” interrupted Alec.

Subtly, Ellie stepped on Alec’s foot. “Thank you for your time Mr. and Mrs. Woolsey. I don’t think I have any more questions. Sir, what about you?”

“Nope. I am thoroughly done.”

The two detectives left the room. Ellie quietly closed the door behind her, and they walked towards the nurse’s station.

“Well that was interesting,” joked Ellie. “Paul has his hands full with those two.”

Alec raised and lowered his eyebrows, smirking. “The creatures – or whatever they are – in each account they look slightly different. But there is the commonality of lights and glowing and a jellyfish-ish—”

“Ha! Jellyfish-ish!” laughed Ellie.

“Jellyfish- _like_ quality.”

Ellie pulled out her mobile and referred to the notes she had taken earlier. “According to Nurse Bain, the first patient said he saw something that looked like a transparent fish-thing with floating appendages, while the second said it was more like a manta ray with tentacles. But transparent.”

“And Connolly was the one who described it like a jellyfish. And back there, Mr. Woolsey was adamant that it was a four-legged octopus.

“That’s quadropus,“ said Ellie, mock stern. “But transparent.”

Alec cracked a smile. “And then we have Missus and her frightening beast of a creature. The face on that thing! Looked like he was about to suck someone’s soul,” Alec said, voice high.

Ellie laughed. “She seems to be a bit dramatic, doesn’t she?”

“Artistic temperament.” Alec stopped and tipped his head heavenward, eyes closed. He shook his head. “What are we even doing here, Ellie? This is a bloody waste of time.”

Ellie shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Do you have any more questions for the medical staff?

“No. I’m calling it. Go home to your boys.”

“Aw, thanks, ya big softie.” Ellie grinned at the Inspector. “I’ll go tell the nurse that we don’t need her to stay.”

Alec and Ellie walked back to their vehicles in silence.

“See you tomorrow, Sir.”

Alec nodded, folded himself into his car, and made a quick getaway.

oOo

Rose calculated the minimum amount of time Alec would be gone: fifteen minutes of drive time, a minimum of half an hour for Ellie and Alec to poke around at the hospital, and fifteen minutes to get back from town. She added an additional fifteen minutes of chatting or bickering with Ellie, depending upon his mood.

This gave her a generous block of time - seventy-five minutes - to make the five minute drive to the beach, look around a bit, and get back to Alec’s cosy, stone cottage. When Alec got home, she decided she’d ask him what he'd found out, and then figure out if she would need to investigate further, on her own, tomorrow.

Once outfitted in her wet-weather running gear, Rose double-checked that her mobile was in her pocket. Tiger trotted up to her, and she patted her dog’s flank. A cold drizzle hit her face as she opened the back door, and the wind whipped her long fringe around her face. She scurried to her car, started it up, and headed to the beach.

oOo

Rose ran against the gusting wind. The drizzle had stopped, and the wind had cleared out the clouds. The view up and down the beach was unobstructed by fog or mist. She checked her watch twice, increasing her pace each time.

Ten minutes of feet slapping the sand passed before she encountered any activity. She saw a police car in the car park that serviced one of the main access points to the beach. No lights were flashing, nor were sirens sounding. Rose changed her course, running towards the vehicle. The doors opened, and two officers stepped out.

"Beg your pardon, ma'am, but this part of the beach is closed," hollered one of the officers. His high-powered LED torch bathed her in light.

“Is that you, Gwen Lewis?” called out a woman.

“Yeah, it’s me. Who’s there?” asked Rose, choosing not to address the issue of her name tonight.

“It’s me, Anna Andrews. I’m here with Officer Ellis.”

She lengthened her stride, and met the two police officers quickly.

“Awful night for a run, innit?” quipped Officer Ellis.

“I think it’s a gorgeous night now that the rain is gone,” said Rose. “I needed to stretch my legs a bit. Is everything all right? Why's the beach closed?"

“Purely precautionary,” answered Officer Ellis. “Haven't had time to post warning signs yet. There’s been some suspicious activity down here. We’re just keeping a lookout.”

"Honestly, between you, me, and the seagulls, I really have no idea why we're out here freezing our bums watching over a piece of beach,” said Officer Andrews. “Nothing's happened for the last two hours, and I doubt anything is going to happen. Could use a few shots of your espresso right about now." She yawned behind a cupped hand.

Rose looked at her watch. "My car's up on the other end of the beach or I'd pop over to the shop and bring you back a nice hot cup of something."

"No worries, Gwen," said Anna, grinning. “But you live on this end of town. Why you parked all the way up there?” She looked beyond Rose.

"Oh. Right. I do. Yeah. Um, I'm staying with Alec until my house is ready to be lived in again. The break in..." Rose cleared her throat. “And all of that, you know..." She turned to Officer Ellis. "So what kind of suspicious activity?” Rose asked, as she picked at a fingernail.

"Something about a group of people getting sick and losing their memories. All of 'em were found over there." Ellis motioned widely. "Not that my opinion counts for nothing, ‘cos no one seems to want to listen to me back at the station, but I think this is a case of a bad batch of heroin or home-cooked drugs.” He turned to Anna. “Think about it. They are all found in the same spot. Probably buying from the same dealer. And all of them get sick in the exact say way.” Officer Ellis sniffed.

Rose made a show of frowning. “So this is about those poor people found wandering around on the beach?”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “You’ve heard about them?”

“Word gets ‘round,” Rose replied with a smile. “I heard they went into comas, and then popped right back out, no worse for the wear." Carefully, she watched the reactions of both police officers. Both of them flinched. “Plus, I was in A and E when the first couple of 'em were brought in,” she added. “Another two were brought in today, and least that’s what I hear.”

“But you’ve got it all wrong,” blurted Officer Ellis. “The pair from the other day weren't the first ones. Spooky Steve Connolly was the first, and that was a coupla days ago. Though, he never struck me to be the type to be a user. He don’t need any help to be off with the faeries.” Colin winked and laughed too hard at his own joke.

“But I thought there was no proof that any of these people were doing anything illegal. Their drug screens were all negative.” She cleared her throat. “So I heard.” She cleared her throat again. “At least, no one’s been arrested.” Rose shivered as a particularly strong gust of wind buffeted the trio.

"The way Connolly raves, you'd think the beach was haunted,” said Ellis. “He called 999 after he was released from hospital, and the dispatcher brushed him off like usual. Since then, he’s come into the station at least half a dozen times trying to get someone to believe him. Strange talk about flashing jellyfish or some other rot, begging him for help.”

Rose’s eyebrows shot upward. “Jellyfish asking for help?”

“Yeah, looney, innit?” Ellis said.

“Course Connolly thinks all of Broadchurch is haunted,” Anna snorted.

“And don’t forget, the dead speak to him, too,” Ellis added with a wink. He waved his hands and made a spooky, ghostly sound and then broke into a fit of belly clutching laughter.

“Well, he has an agenda,” interrupted Anna. She cleared her throat. “He has that book of his. Wants to boost his sales. Tried a similar stunt during the Latimer investigation.”

“Practically stalked poor Beth Latimer, telling her he’d heard from Danny, God rest his soul.” Briefly, Officer Ellis looked down the beach towards the stone memorial dedicated to the boy.

Rose remembered something from one of the online articles she had read in The Echo when she first arrived in Broadchurch. “What Steve Connolly told the DI and Ellie did pan out though, right?” asked Rose. “The bit about the boat? And it being someone close to the family?”

Officer Ellis’s stance became stiff. He stood ramrod straight, and he re-balanced himself over his feet.

Anna’s face hardened, and she clasped her hands behind her back. “He wasn’t killed in a boat, and murder is usually committed by someone close, Gwen.”

Rose shifted her balance a few times, biting her lip. “Um, well…” She cleared her throat. “See you in the morning?”

Anna nodded once, and then both cops sauntered back to their police car. “I think we were the ones being interrogated, Ellis.”

Rose cringed as she heard their hushed conversation carried on the wind as she ran up the beach…

But halfway to her car, her feet started to feel heavy, and her lungs began to burn. She slowed to a walk, put her hands on top of her head, trying to catch her breath. Why did she feel like she was at the end of a marathon?

Slowing only made her condition worse, so she stopped. Bending at the waist, she rested her hands on her thighs, her chest heaving, begging for air. It took what seemed like forever to sink her exhausted body to the sand, but the cold, wet ground felt like the softest chair she’d ever fallen into. Her breath regulated the moment she looked out to sea.

_Help us…_  they whispered.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torchwood sends another team to Broadchurch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No betas. All mistakes are mine.
> 
> And....... I am officially caught up. I have edited and posted all of the chapters Exposed that I had posted before I took it down. Original writing from chapter nine on. Eeep!

Alec turned off of the road, and into his winding gravel driveway through the trees. His irritation over the wasted two hours began to dissipate. Through the leafless branches, he saw the lights of home, and he relaxed a little bit more. Now clear of the trees, he parked his car. But Rose's Fiat was absent.

_Where’s Rose?_ Alec asked himself. He glanced at the clock on his dashboard. Nine forty-five.

He frowned, got out of his vehicle, and darted his eyes around the property for any sign of her.

A gust of wind blew his fringe into his eyes and snatched the car door from his hand, testing the limits of its hinges. He pulled out his mobile and thumbed familiar spots on the touchscreen. As he waited for Rose to answer, he scanned his property full circle.

“He… hello?” Rose answered, voice gravelly.

“Rose, is something wrong?! Are you all right?” Alec placed his free hand on his hip and paced the length of his car.

“Um… no, I mean… yeah. I’m… okay. I’m okay.“ She cleared her throat. "I’m okay. I… I think I may have fallen asleep is all.”

"Asleep?" He scrunched his face as he heard Rose yawn. “But where the hell are you?”

”I’m, uh, sitting in my car. I’m…” She paused. “I’m parked at the north trailhead where the gravel path goes down to the beach. I came down to the beach to go for a short run."

“On the beach after dark? That's reckless. Not to mention the fact that it's bloody freezing out!” He leaned against the door of his car and crossed his arms, his phone cradled between his shoulder and ear. "How far did you run? How long?"

“I'm not exactly sure, to be honest." She sighed. "Sorry, I'm a big outta sorts.”

“Stay there, I’m coming to you. You clearly are in no state to drive.” Alec climbed back in his car, and inserted the key in the ignition.

”I promise. I’m fine, Alec. Really. Blimey I'm cold. Let me turn on the heat.

He heard the engine come to life, and then the dull roar of a fan forcing air through vents.

_”I was only gonna sit for a bit, but I must've nodded off,"_ she said through a yawn.

Through the receiver he heard the sound of gravel crunching under tyres. “I don’t want you driving. Pull over. Now. Stop the car. I’m coming down there to pick you up.”

”Honestly Alec, I’m fine now. I’ll be at your place in less than five minutes. Bye.”

oOo

Even though she was chilled to the bone, Rose cracked the window hoping the fresh air would wake her up. She adjusted the heat vents so they were blowing at her body, away from her face.

The fine hair on Rose's arms stood on end over goose-pimpled skin. She clutched the steering wheel until the skin on the back of her hands was taut.  _How can it be after nine forty-five?”_ thought Rose, straining to breech the walls that separated her from her memories of the previous two hours.

oOo

Alec clenched his jaw, and then shoved his mobile back into his pocket. “Damn stubborn woman,” he muttered into the wind. He squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed a hand over his stubbly face before he headed inside.

Reminders of Rose were scattered about. Her oatmeal cardigan was draped over the back of a chair; her laptop was charging next to his; that enormous yellow purse of hers was on the kitchen table, open. He regretted his earlier anger, thankful that she was safe. She knew how to handle herself in a fight. He knew she wouldn't have been vulnerable on that beach, running alone. But he didn't like the feeling -- the gnawing worry -- of not knowing where she was.

Alec removed his coat, jacket, and tie. He rolled up his white shirtsleeves, and then began the work of getting a fire going. After a few pumps of the bellows, the dry wood was crackling, warming the room with golden flames. He heard the distinctive squeak of the kitchen door hinges followed by a solid thud, and then quiet footfall across the wood flooring. Keys jangled, and then thudded, as she dropped them into her purse.

More footsteps, but halting this time…

He looked over his shoulder and saw Rose staring into the flames.

“I’m sorry about the argument before. About aliens and stuff. I'm finding it hard to let go of my old job. All these things that've been happening, and then Torchwood coming to do an investigation about...something, and I'm not in on the big secret." She shook her head, frustrated. "All of to it's just a reminder. That's all." Her teeth chattered as she hugged herself. "I hate that we argue so much now."

In two long strides, Alec was close enough to smell the salt spray on her skin. He enveloped Rose, holding her close, feeling her shivering within his embrace. “You’re freezing,” Alec said into her hair. “Go take a hot shower, and then change into something warm.”

Rose nodded. She let her hand linger on his arm for a moment before she slipped away.

"Again. Aliens. Just bite your tongue, Hardy."

oOo

Rose turned the faucet and dove into the stream of hot water. It stung and pricked at her cold-sensitive skin.

She fought against her own mind, trying to work out a timeline. _Alec left for the hospital at about seven. And then I left here a couple of minutes later. I drove down to the beach. I parked. Did I go for a run or didn’t I? No, I know I went for a run! Of course I did! There was sand on my trainers!_

She stared at the tile as she fought her fatigue, straining to remember the events of the previous two hours.

_I got out of my car and ran down the trail to the beach. I saw a spotlight, and there were cops at the spot where those people were found. I talked to them. I think._ She groaned. "Why can’t I remember?" she said out loud.

Rose turned around and leaned her forehead against the tile. Hunching over slightly, Rose focused on the feeling of the hot water hammering the small of her back. She closed her eyes, breathed in the steam, and her body finally began to feel warm.

But still, no memories of the run back to her car were released from her mind.

oOo

Alec dropped onto the sofa, blowing air through his lips. Heavily, his head dropped against the cushion behind him. Shadows danced across the ceiling. This was supposed to have been their night. The night that they could finally be themselves again. Just Rose and Alec being in love. 

He'd even dared to hope that he could change her mind about all of this bloody waiting. But he’d wait. _She’s worth it._

They were finally unhindered by lies or fears or fatigue or anger or doubt. He'd promised himself he wouldn't press her about her delusions of the time travelling alien and previously living in an alternate universe. If she wanted to discuss it, he'd decided that from now on he would simply listen. He would offer his silent support, encouraging her gently along on the road to full recovery.

And then that damn case happened...

And they’d argued...

She’d gone for a run...

He sat up, frowning. "Something’s off." Alec straightened from his sprawling position and propped his elbows on his knees. He stared into the fire as he reviewed the timeline.

_I left around seven, and then got home around nine forty-five, and she was gone. She said she went to the beach for a short run, not a two hour workout._ "

He began a mental list of questions:  _When did Rose leave the cottage? Maybe she stayed around the house for a while after I left?_ He furrowed his brow.  _And she was very groggy when she answered her mobile. Said she'd fallen asleep after her run. But she couldn't tell me how long she had even been out there? She was cold. But the car wasn’t running when she answered._ Alec remembered hearing her start it up during their conversation.  _So why didn't she get in the car, start the bloody thing up first thing? And then turn on the heater, and then fall asleep?_

Alec pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He felt the sofa dip.

Rose looked small wrapped up in her over-sized, fluffy, pink dressing gown. She pulled herself into a tight ball, her arms around her knees.

"You're still cold. Here." Alec retrieved a plaid, wool blanket from the back of the sofa and draped it over the front of her body. He tucked it tightly under her thighs and back, and then he moved closer. When he pulled her into his side he could feel her shivering.

"Can't seem to get warm. The shower was helped, but as soon as I got out, I caught a chill again. You're right. It was stupid of me to go for a run tonight." She closed her eyes, and dropped her head onto his shoulder.

"So you did run on the beach? You seemed unclear about that fact," he said in an investigatory tone.

"Course I did!" Rose squirmed.

Alec furrowed his brows for a moment. "You're lucky you aren't hypothermic. What were you thinking? Going for a run when the temperature is nigh freezing? And with that wind blowing off of the water--"

"I needed to clear my head." 

He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted. 

"And I wanted to see the spot on the beach for myself. The place where those people were found."

Alec nodded once. "Right." He knew he should ask his questions, satisfy his curiosity.

She nuzzled his neck and kissed a sensitive spot right below his ear. “I was stupid, and that’s that, and I’m probably so chilled because I was in that cold car without any heat going. I still can’t believe I fell asleep.”

“I wondered why you were gone so long. I was worried when I found that you weren’t home yet." He paused. "When I get worried, I get upset. I know it probably sounds like I’m angry, but I'm not. I'm glad you're safe.” He kissed the top of her head.

“We aren't going to argue about this, are we?” she asked, looking deeply into his eyes. “I think we’ve spent more time arguing than being civil since I got back." She shook her head. "I don’t wanna argue anymore.”

“Who’s arguing?” he asked with a soft smile.

Rose sighed, closed her eyes and nuzzled further into Alec’s embrace. “What about your evening? What’d you learn at the hospital?”

“I learned what a bloody waste of time this investigation is, that’s what I learned,” Alec grumped. “Reverend Coates was already there. The patients wanted to speak to a priest, because they felt what they saw was of a spiritual nature." He used air quotes.

"So who called the police then?" asked Rose.

"Their nurse. She thought five people coming in over the course of a couple of days was suspicious. Medically suspicious, perhaps. Not criminally. There’s no case. I’ll be closing it tomorrow.”

Rose laughed quietly into his chest. “So if there’s no case, you can tell me all about it, yeah?”

He stiffened slightly. “No. I am not talking about it. I’m officially off duty.”

Rose chewed her lip for a moment. “It is kinda mysterious, though. Don’t ya think?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Mysterious? That makes it sound far more interesting than it is. Unexplained maybe, but not mysterious.”

Rose smiled. “How do you explain it then? People turning up on Broadchurch beach, walking in circles, telling tales of flashing and talking jellyfish?"

"How do you know those details?" He frowned.

Rose looked into the fire. "I may have overheard the nurses talking when I went to A&E for the headache."

"Mmmmm." Alec sniffed, and then scrubbed his face with his hand. “Listen Rose, like you just said a minute ago. This is the first time we’ve had together, just the two of us, without any.. _issues_. I thought this night was supposed to be the beginning of our do-over. We don't need to be talking about this. Much better things we could be doing.”

She nodded subtly. “You’re right.” She zipped her lips with her fingertips. "I won't bring it up again tonight."

“I’ve built a fire. I can open a bottle of your favorite Cab, or I can make you a cup of tea. Your choice.” He reached to his left and pressed a button on a remote. Slow and sultry jazz sounded.

“Tea, please. Something herbal.”

Alec nodded, stood from the sofa, and retreated into the kitchen.

Rose pulled the heavy blanket up under her chin and curled onto her side, using her hands as a pillow for her cheek. She could hear Alec drawing water from the tap into the tea kettle. Then she heard the lid being pried off of a tin of tea... The clink of a metal spoon against the porcelain of the teapot... Water in the tea kettle rumbling as it heated... Alec drumming his fingers on the counter, waiting for the water to boil...

While her non-sight senses were sharp, her eyes were fighting to stay open, hypnotised by the crackling flames dancing over the dry wood. A log shifted and sparks shot upwards. Her eyelids felt even heavier now, and her vision softened, becoming unfocused. She let her eyes close as she listened to the crackling of the fire and the breathy tenor saxophone.

_Help us…_

“Tea.” 

Alec's voice immediately brought Rose back to the present. He offered her one of two goldenrod-coloured mugs he was holding.

She sat up slowly. “Ta. Smells good." She brought the mug to her lips and inhaled the steam.

"You're still shivering," Alec observed as he sat down next to her.

"Tea'll help," she said in an almost-whisper.

Alec sat as close as he could; thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. He put his mug on the side table, and then felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "You're really cold." His eyes narrowed.

"The tea's helping already, I think," she said. Her hands were wrapped around the mug, and she rested her lips on the rim between sips, drinking until her mug was empty. "See? No more chattering teeth."

"But you're still chilled," assessed Alec.

Rose brought her fist to her mouth to hide a yawn. "I'm knackered."

"You should go to bed, then," Alec said flatly as he stared into the dancing flames.

She looked down at her lap. "...and Rose ruins yet another night. What is this now, third time in a row?"

Alec chuckled, and then silenced her apology with a gentle kiss on her lips. "Nothing's ruined. There's always tomorrow. I just can't get enough of you. Can I touch you?”

"Yeah," she replied, swallowing hard.

He slid his hand under the blanket and through the opening of her dressing gown, seeking the soft skin inside her thigh. "Gone without for so long. I’m greedy.”

She shivered again – but not from cold – as his breath puffed against her neck. ”I’m not up to... doin'... y'know... anything more than this, Alec. M'sorry. I’m really looking forward to being with you again, but not yet.” She closed her eyes, sighed, and turned into him, wrapping one of her arms around his body. “But would you come to bed with me now? Keep me warm?"

"Of course." He took the empty mug from her hand, set it on the side table, and then offered his hand to help her off of the sofa.

Without even brushing her teeth, Rose crawled into bed -- still wearing the bulky dressing gown. She turned onto her side, and curled in on herself. Alec ducked into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and emerged in his pyjama bottoms. He looked down at the woman in his bed. She was already asleep, quietly snoring. He slipped into bed, and settled on his back, feeling guilty for entertaining the thought of caressing her body while she was asleep. She needed her rest. His physical cravings would have to wait. Again. He stared at the ceiling. Wide awake.

oOo

“I’ll save you!” Rose cried into the darkness of the bedroom.

Alec startled awake. The clock on his nightstand read one thirty-two.

"Tell me what you need me to do!" Rose whimpered, thrashing against the sheets.

"Rose, Love, wake up. You've having a nightmare."

He touched her shoulder, and she sat up with a gasp. Her heart thudded against her chest and sweat beaded on her forehead.

"I have to help them. They're stuck," she said, turning to look down at Alec through unfocused eyes.

Alec pulled her down into his arms. "Rose, it's not real. You're having a nightmare. I've got you now." Alec squeezed her tightly.

"Gotta save them," she whimpered, eyes closed now. "They can't survive here, and they're gonna die."

He furrowed his brows as he pondered the desperation in her voice. _She's not awake,_ he reminded himself. “I’ll help you save them tomorrow,“ offered Alec.

"Thank you." She lifted her head and kissed him fervently, and then sighed as she let her body relax, her cheek resting on his bare chest.

Alec stroked her hair, and soon Rose’s breathing steadied, and she succumbed to a deep, undisturbed sleep.

oOo

"Rose, wake up.” Alec squeezed her shoulder. She grunted something unintelligible. “Time to get up. Your alarm has been sounding for fifteen minutes. Time to get up for work.” She didn’t stir.

He switched on the lamp, and grinned as he saw the back of her messy blonde head poking out of the top of the covers. He leaned in closely, and spoke into her ear quietly. "Rose, it's almost five-thirty. Get up. You need to open your shop or Ellie's gonna break in to make herself a cup of coffee."

"Ugh," she groaned into the pillow. "Don't wanna get outta bed. Nice 'n cosy."

Alec smiled, and then flung the duvet back, exposing her body to the cold air of the bedroom. Sometime during the night, she had shed her fluffy dressing gown, and now she was only wearing knickers and a vest.

"Oi! That was mean," she protested before she lobbed his pillow at him, and then flopped back down, grabbing for the duvet.

"Oh no, you don't. Come on. Up you get." He grasped her hand, and pulled her up and out of bed and into his arms. "Good morning, sleepyhead." He pushed a lock of her messy hair out of her face.

"Wish it was Sunday," she pouted.

"Yeah, me too. You look delicious."

"I do not, I'm a mess." She smiled into his chest, feeling his soft hair against her lips. “You showered already?” She ran her foot along the cuff of his trousers.

“Mmm hmm. Been up for about thirty minutes.”

“Why’d you get up so early?”

“Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Something bothering you?”

“Couldn’t turn off my brain.”

“Mmm,” she hummed in sympathy before heading into the bathroom.

Alec watched her backside as she shuffled away.

"I know you're staring at my bum."

"Me? Never," he joked, grinning.

"I had the weirdest dream last night," she called from the bathroom. "Kinda faded now, though."

"You were talking in your sleep." He leaned on the bathroom doorframe and watched her as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

"What'd I say? Anything good?" She teased him with a tongue between her teeth.

“You were trying to save some people or something. You seemed quite _desperate_." Alec’s eyes darted down to her chest, and then to her belly, and then back to her face.

Rose’s stomach did a flip under his heated examination.

He pushed himself off of the doorjamb and moved to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his groomed, but stubbly chin on her shoulder. "You were rather upset. I had a hard time calming you."

She looked at his face in the mirror. "I'm sorry I kept you up."

“No, you didn’t keep me up. Like I said, I just didn’t sleep well. Plus, I’d much rather have you in my bed and keeping me awake, than not have you in my bed at all." He nibbled on her neck. "Missed you so much. And now you're going to be leaving me all alone in my bed again, now that you're moving back to your house.” He took a few controlled breaths, and then stepped away from temptation. "But I understand. Do you need your car today?" he added abruptly.

“Why?” She started to brush her teeth.

"How about I drive you in to work, and then pick you up? I’ll bring lunch, too. I’m going to the station early, and plan on coming home at a decent hour.”

“Alec, you don’t have to do that,” she said through foamy toothpaste.

Alec smiled, feeling pleased that she felt comfortable enough to spit in the sink in his presence. “But I want to. Miss you when I’m not with you.”

She turned around and leaned against the sink. “I stayed last night, yeah?“ She draped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into a heated kiss. “How about we go on that date tonight?” 

Alec clenched his jaw. “I’m starting to feel like I’m sixteen again, and snogging my girlfriend while her Mum and Dad are outta the house. Don’t tease me. It isn’t fair.”

Rose frowned. “Good thing that I’m going back home then.” She looked away, slack-jawed for a moment. “Okay then, no more kissing.”

“I never said no kissing,” Alec corrected her sternly.

“I’m just not ready, okay?” she said quietly firm. Rose flipped the switch to her left, turning on the exhaust fan that Alec had finally installed during those long weeks he and Rose had been separated.

“I’ll let you get to it then. And I really don’t need to see you naked right now.” Alec strode out of the bathroom. He shoved his arms into his white shirt and whipped his blue tie around his neck. He groaned when he heard the metal curtain rings screech along the shower rod.

oOo

Alec and Rose decided to drive into town separately, but met at Zoka. She arrived minutes before the newspaper delivery kids were due to pick up the papers. 

After doling out the bundles to the kids, she prepared Alec’s Earl Grey for takeaway, and dished up a bowl of steel cut oats into paper takeaway container. She sprinkled the top with raisins and walnuts, then a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg, and finally drizzled a tablespoon of honey over the melange.

Alec pushed the money for his breakfast and tea across the counter. Rose leaned in for their customary morning kiss. Her heart fell at the quickness of the peck. Alec took a spot at the closest table, and sat down to eat his porridge.

“Alec.” Rose sighed. “Please don’t be angry. I’ve never moved so fast before. I’ve always been careful, okay? And I’m scared. My first boyfriend — Jimmy Stone — he pushed and pushed until I gave in, and then I made the biggest mistake of my life because of him. And with Mickey, it was—“

“Stop right there.” Alec held up a hand and shoved himself away from the table. “Rose, this isn’t a discussion to have right now. I’m frustrated. I admit it. I want you. _Badly_. I’m willing to wait, but I need to know what will it take for you to be ready. Think about it today. We’ll talk tonight. And I love you, Rose.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered. 

The bell on the door jangled. Rose’s face blanched as she saw two of the Torchwood agents from the day before saunter through the doorway.

“Hey.” Isaac Hernández smiled brightly and lifted a hand, hello.

“You’re back?” Rose asked, hurrying around to the front of the counter.

“We’re back. Just me and Matthews here.” Isaac Hernádez turned to the DI.

“Inspector Hardy.” Hernández offered his hand, and Alec accepted. “I didn’t get to meet you properly the other morning. I’m Isaac Hernádez, and this stone-faced redhead is Geoffrey Matthews.”

“I remember,” said the Inspector, coolly, but still accepted the stoic man’s handshake.

“So you’re back. Everything all right?” Rose asked.

“Yes, ma’am, everything is fine. Simply doing a followup,” replied the handsome Isaac Hernández.

Geoffrey clasped his hands behind his back and balanced on the balls of his feet as he studied the selection of pastries in the case.

Rose picked her fingernails for a moment. “Is, uh, is Jake with you?”

“No, ma’am,” answered Matthews.

Alec caught Rose’s eyes, and he offered her a sympathetic nod.

Rose nodded and relaxed her shoulders. “So, what can I get for you two?”

“I’m going to head to the station, Rose,” interrupted Alec, standing from his seat. 

“See you at lunch,” Rose replied quietly.

Alec nodded, and headed out the door.

The men placed their orders, and Rose prepared the drinks in silence. As she worked the machine, her mind wandered.  _Why’d Jake send a two-man team back so soon?_ She pulled two shots of espresso, watching the perfect _crema_ float to the surface.

_Help us! We are dying! We aren't from here. We don't belong here. You are the only one we've found who can help us!_

"I don't know what to do!" Rose said under her breath.

“Ms. Tyler.” Hernádez touched her forearm. “Ms. Tyler,” he repeated.

“Rose,” barked Matthews. “I think the milk is done.”

“Hmm?” she replied. An unpleasant odor reached her nose. She groaned, realizing she had over-steamed the milk for Matthews’ latté. “Sorry. I gonna need to start over,” she muttered, shaking the cobwebs from her mind. “So how long you gonna be here?” she asked, pouring the spoilt milk down the drain. She retrieved a clean stainless steel steaming pitcher, and filled it with milk.

“Undetermined,” answered the stoic redhead, eyes darting around the shop.

Rose nodded. “Well, if you end up needing a place to stay, the Cliffview Inn is nice,” offered Rose, looking up from the espresso machine, searching for any hint of the duration of their mission.

“We will keep that in mind,” replied Matthews.

Rose finished preparing their hot drinks, and then pulled two whole grain muffins from the case. “That’ll be thirteen pound twenty, please.” She counted the money that Hernádez had just handed to her. “Hold on, you gave me forty pound, Agent Hernández. That's over twenty too much.” She returned a combination notes and coins.

He laughed. “Don’t call me that. _Seriously_. I’m Dez. And the extra is to cover Simmonds’ dine and dash, or don’t you remember?” Hernández winked.

“Oh, believe me, I remember,” she said under her breath. Her cheeks flushed pink. “Jake already paid me. So here’s your change.”

“You know, Jake was an absolute ass yesterday,” said Hernádez, hotly, accepting the money. “I feel like I need to apologise for not kicking his ass right then and there.”

Rose's eyebrows shot upwards and Agent Matthews cleared his throat. 

Isaac ignored his partner and casually rested his hip on the counter. He looked in the direction of the pair of brown leather chairs. “Wall’s fixed.”

“Yeah, Alec patched it up for me.”

“Good man you’ve got there.” Hernández frowned for a moment. “And he paid, right? Simmonds did? For slamming his fist into the wall?” the dashing American asked.

“Agent,” Matthews warned tightly.

“Stop your nagging. You sound like my mom.” 

Rose snorted. “All moms nag then? Even the American ones?”

“Yessiree.” Hernández turned to face his nervous partner. “I suppose it’s time to leave the lovely Ms. Tyler. Good to see you again.”

“Just Rose,” she said with a smile. “Wait. Uh, Dez. You know, I think you owe me at least a hint as to what’s going on in my village. I do live here, you know. And I think the Director might think was a good idea to keep me at least informed if there was even the threat of danger, yeah? So what has Torchwood visiting twice in one week?” She leaned over the counter, and smiled at the handsome brown-eyed man with thick wavy brown hair.

“Sorry Ms. Tyler. It’s classified,” Agent Matthews interjected from across the room.

“Gotcha.” Rose straightened up. “See ‘ya round.” She turned her attention to the burned milk in the steaming pitcher. “Well this is for the rubbish bin. Milk is burnt to the bottom.” She tossed it into the basket for recycling metal.

“No need to throw that away, ma’am. Put it over a flame with some water and some soap. Scrape up the burned milk with a wooden spoon,” suggested Matthews.

Rose offered him a tongue-touched grin. “Thank you Geoffrey. Awfully handy bit of information. How do you know so much about cleaning up burnt milk?”

“As a former SAS sergeant, I’ve been prepared for an assortment of contingencies,” Geoffrey boasted.

“I bet you are,” Rose flirted as she retrieved the stainless steel pitcher.

“I think you’ve gone and impressed the boss’ daughter, Geoffy. Good job.”

Matthews stiffened and cleared his throat. “Hernández, we are on a time schedule.”

“Yeah, yeah. If we don’t get a move-on, I think Matthews here might burst an artery. It was good to see you again, Rose.”

“Thanks.” She ran her hand through her hair and sighed dramatically. “It’s just that it’s, you know, frustrating being on the outside, not knowing what’s going on.” She picked at her fingernails, and then looked up through her lashes.

“I’m sure it is, and I’m really sorry Dollface, but I can’t say anything.” He winked.

“‘Kay. I won’t bother you any further.” She paused. “Y’know, Dez.” She moved her fiddling from her fingernails to her hoop earring. “I may or may not have heard about some sorta odd occurrences around here. Torchwood-type odd.”

“You don’t say,” Hernádez replied with a slow smile. “Care to share?”

“I’m only telling you this the greater good. But word around town is that something odd is going on down at the beach. Some people have been found wandering around down there. You know, never mind. That’s why you’re here. Right?” She raised her eyebrows and lowered her chin.

“Go on,” prompted Matthews.

“Oh. So you haven’t heard about the poor blokes that are going into comas?” she hinted.

Hernández straightened up, and crossed his arms. “No. We haven’t.”

“Five or six of ‘em now — they’ve gone into comas for no medical reason. But then come out of it. No permanent damage. And every single one of them says that they saw flashing jellyfish. Strange, huh?”

“Very.” Isaac put a hand on his hip and frowned.

“But,” Rose tilted her head to the side. “I suppose you need to get going. Torchwood business and all.”

“Thanks for the intel, Agent Tyler.” Agent Hernádez winked at her.

“Don’t mention it. Once a Torchwood agent, always a Torchwood agent I suppose. Sorta changes you, yeah?” She swallowed hard, and then offered a small smile.

“I suppose it does,” Isaac agreed. “And depending on… how things pan out today… you may or may not see us tomorrow. If you need to reach me, here’s my info.” Hernández handed Rose a plain white business card with a string of numbers.

“See you soon then. Maybe.” Rose smiled at him.

“Agent Hernández,” Agent Hathaway tapped his wristwatch. “We are significantly behind schedule.”

oOo

“So what about the intel that Ms. Tyler dropped?” asked Geoffrey Matthews.

“Does make things a bit more interesting. Connolly isn’t the only one seeing things, then. We’ll add the hospital to our itinerary.” Isaac Hernández turned the ignition of the SUV, and the engine rumbled, low and powerful.

Geoffrey took a sip of his coffee. “Simmonds’ orders were clear. We were not to be in contact with Rose Tyler whilst in Broadchurch.” He reached for the hand grab above his head as Isaac aggressively pulled the imposing black SUV away from the kerb.

“Oi, Dez! Throttle back! This isn’t your old F-16,” Geoffrey complained.

“Sorry. Anyway, I wanted coffee. Rose’s shop was open. It was a business transaction. Nothing more. Plus, we found out about the other victims.”

“You called Jake an ass. You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Golly gee, you’re right, Geoff. I shouldn’t have called him an ass. I should have called him a _bastard_.”

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

“You going to tattle on me, Geoffy-boy?” teased Isaac.

“Then who’d be the ass?” answered Geoffrey with a small smile.

Geoffrey’s tablet pinged. He inserted his coffee cup into the drink holder, and then retrieved the device. He tapped it a few times. “There was another energy spike near the microrift last night. Started at nineteen thirty-two. It lasted about forty-five minutes, peaking at twenty oh-five.”

Isaac took a sip of coffee. “Strength?”

“Standby.” Geoffrey looked through the report. “Six point two times stronger than the original readings.”

“That’s really not good. It’s getting bigger. But do we investigate the rift first, or go and find this Connolly guy?” Isaac asked.

“Well, considering it is only six-thirty in the morning, I’d say the beach would be the more polite option, Dez.”

“Good point.” Isaac laughed. He headed towards the marina where Geoffrey would put in the inflatable Zodiac, and then they would head out to sea to take energy readings from the microrift.

“Hey Geoff, why do you think Jake is so upset with Tyler?” Isaac tipped his coffee cup back for his final drink.

“Can’t rightly say,” Geoffrey replied neutrally.

“It was wrong, the way he treated her. Rose Tyler is a hero.” Isaac gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Not our fight, mate. I’m sure there is plenty we aren’t privy to.”

“Still isn’t right,” Isaac squinted.

“Don’t try to be her knight in shining armour. She already has one,” Geoffrey warned.

“I’m not interested in Rose Tyler in that way, you idiot.” Isaac found a parking space.

“You’re _always_ interested,” Geoffrey chuckled.

“Yeah, well even I know when I haven’t got a chance in hell.”

“That Inspector is awfully protective of her,” noted Geoffrey.

“But did you see how protective she was of  _him_?” Isaac turned the key. 

“You gave her your encrypted mobile number,” Geoffrey said flatly.

“She might have more info to share. Now let’s get this done quick-like so we can interrogate Connolly. After that we’ll swing by the hospital.” Isaac turned off the vehicle.

Geoffrey tapped on his tablet. “I’m adding the new info that Tyler shared with us into the case file.”

“Hey, make sure you note that the info was from an anonymous source.”

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow. “Right.”

oOo

“How’s your salad?” asked Alec.

“It’s good. Thanks for bringing lunch,” said Rose, smiling.

Alec closed his empty clamshell takeaway container and leaned back in his chair. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, blowing air through his lips.

“You look knackered.” Rose frowned.

“Aye.”

“Why don’t we go out for dinner tomorrow. I think you need some sleep,” she suggested.

Alec straightened back up in his chair and looked her straight in the eye. “No. We are _not_ cancelling.”

Rose put down her fork and studied the man sitting on the other side of the small café table. She stretched out her hand and wiggled her fingers. They entwined their fingers and rested their hands on the table.

“I told Agent Hernández — Dez — about the people who saw the flashing jellyfish and ended up in hospital. I figured since I heard about it firsthand when I was in A&E, it wouldn’t be a problem. And you said you were closing the case, anyway. It’s really more of a thing that Torchwood would investigate, not the police, so…” She bit her lip, tipping her chin down a bit, so that she was looking up at him through long, black eyelashes.

He nodded, but then broke eye contact. “I don’t see a problem with that,” he said into the ceiling. “You heard some nurses talking, so you are free to tell anyone you want to tell. No one’s privacy has been breached.”

She nodded.

“Torchwood’s here. It’s possible that they’re tracking something alien, and our patients are the victims.

He returned his attention to her face. “I don’t want to talk about aliens, Rose. You believe. I don’t. Not without proof. Let’s leave it at that. Many couples have differences in opinion about things much bigger than this. And I’m not going to let this come between us.” Alec squeezed her hand. 

Rose sighed and nodded. “You’re right. And I’m not mad. But you’ll see someday.” She learned forward. And you’re gonna be blown away.”

He smiled at her softly, even though his stomach clenched as his thoughts tumbled.  _Oh Rose, you’re using aliens as a coping mechanism to deal with your losses._ But he pushed the thoughts aside, and swallowed hard, remembering Ellie’s admonitions to support and love her. _She needs you, She has lost so, so much. Support her._

“I’m going to miss you in my bed tonight.” Alec interrupted the silence.

“Alec, we’ve been over this—“

“It’s almost twelve-thirty. I need to be getting back to the station. Barring any emergencies, I’ll be at my house around four, and I think I might go for a run after that. I’ll pick you up at six.”

“Looking forward to it. What’s the dress code?” Rose asked.

“Jeans and a jumper. Sorry, heiress. I’m afraid that the second date isn’t going to be as posh as the first.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Jeans and a jumper you say? No complaints here. You in jeans? That’s way better than the most expensive dinner.”

The couple cleared their lunch things, and then shared a slow, soft kiss before Alec left.

Rose prepared herself a pot of herbal tea, and then filled her insulated tumbler. The shop had been quiet all day, and she’d done all of the necessary chores, so she sat on one of the leather side chairs. 

She took a few sips of her tea and listened to the quiet music. The day had its share of ups and downs, but it was going to end well. She was looking forward to her date with Alec. She had gained who she thought might turn out to be a confidant in Dez. It felt good to know she’d helped Torchwood. She smiled and bit her bottom lip as she thought about her date. He’d said jeans, but she wondered if she might wear that same black dress she wore for their first date. His eyes had gone wide. Forget those bloody red shoes, though.

_Help us. Please, help us! We’re dying!_

“Rose!” Ellie’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. “Rose!”

“Oh. Ellie. Uh, what're you doin’ here?” Rose asked, slurring her words slightly. She stood and stretched.

“What am I doing here?” Ellie squinted. “It’s time for my afternoon coffee, you plum! And I’ve been trying to get your attention for at least a minute!"

Rose rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"Chloe made my drink. Said you'd been sleeping since she got here, and she didn't want to wake you.”

“I didn’t want to bother her,” Chloe interrupted from behind the espresso counter. “She was resting so comfortably.

“You’ve got a date with Alec at six. It's all he's been talking about this afternoon. Dinner with Rose. Dinner with Rose. You’re going to be late at this rate,” said Ellie, taking a sip of her coffee and chocolate confection.

“Yeah. Date,” Rose said quietly. She turned and saw that the clock indicated it was almost four forty-five.

"That must have been some dream,” joked Ellie. “One minute you were smiling, and then next, you had this look of sheer terror on your face.” She laughed, and then set her handbag on the side table between the two leather side chairs.

“Shoulda heard her a few minutes ago, Ellie,” added Chloe. “She was talking in her sleep about saving someone.”

“Interesting,” said Ellie raising her eyebrows. “You disappoint Alec tonight and that means insufferable DI tomorrow. But happy Alec means almost decent human being DI tomorrow! Now get a move-on, You!”

Rose didn’t notice that Ellie had winked at her because she was still staring at the clock. Four forty-five. She had slept – in a chair at her coffee shop – for over three hours.


End file.
